Coventry set to join 'Greater Birmingham' super authority

[dutchman]

Proposal that could force universities to pay more into city's coffers slammed by councillors



Universities should not be forced to pay increased business rates to offset any losses Coventry incurs by joining the West Midlands Combined Authority , according to two Labour councillors.

Labour councillors Lynnette Kelly and Coun Damian Gannon both hit out at any suggestion that the city’s two universities should increase the level of business rates they currently pay.

The debate raged as a council report into an impact of joining the WMCA - commonly referred to as ‘Greater Birmingham’ - was discussed during a scrutiny board meeting on Wednesday.

Figures show that the city’s two universities receive an 80 per cent discount on their business rates bills due to their charitable status. That means their bill of about £6.7million amounts to roughly £1.4m after the reduction.

But any suggestion that this figure should rise was opposed by scrutiny committee members Coun Gannon and Coun Kelly.

Coun Kelly, who sometimes teaches at University of Warwick , said: “The part of the report about the universities not paying the full rate of business rates. I read that as a criticism, if not an attack, on the university sector in this city.

“They are employers and major contributors to the city’s economy. Criticising the university in this way is uncalled for.”

Coun Gannon, who has worked as a researcher at University of Warwick, added: “I agree with the concerns about attacking the university sector. They generate a lot of investment into the city.

“Surely the council’s conversations should be about protecting them and making sure they can be a success.”

But the author of the report, council officer Paul Jennings, said the intention was simply to set out the facts and not to criticise the current position.

He said: “Officers are not pushing for reviews of the university sector reliefs.”

The report also highlights that even large privately-operated student accommodation buildings do not pay business rates and instead fall under council tax rules.

Student-occupied buildings also do not pay council tax and, according to the report, these exemptions equate to approximately 3,800 properties in the city, reducing the level of council tax revenue by around £3.2m.

But Mr Jennings also clarified that the council receives compensation for the gap in council tax funding from central government through the ‘revenue support grant’.

He said: “We get a fairly minute amount of funding for people aged 18 to 21, but that’s because they are not intensive in terms of the amount of services and resources they need.

“The funding we get is pretty proportionate to the loss of income I would say.”

The discussion was held as Coventry council and the other West Midlands councils in the combined authority prepare to consult with government over how financing for the WMCA should work.

[rebbonk]

Gannon and Kelly are hardly impartial are they? I wonder if they represent their voters so vociferously?

And let's not forget that Gannon was in charge of finances and pro this 'great deal' that Coventry was getting by signing up to the WMCA.

[dutchman]

John Lewis boss 'to run for West Midlands Mayor job'



John Lewis has confirmed managing director Andy Street is "interested in running" for the office of the Mayor of the West Midlands.

Mr Street will apply to be the Conservative mayoral candidate.

Should Mr Street be selected as the party's choice, he would step down from his John Lewis role, the firm said.

Mr Street, who also chairs a body responsible for driving economic growth in the region, has led the department store chain for nearly a decade.

He was brought up in Birmingham and joined John Lewis in 1985 as a graduate from Oxford University.

Mr Street has overseen a 67% increase in sales at the department store chain - to £3.7bn last year - since he became managing director in 2007.

The news comes after months of speculation about Mr Street's political debut.

If selected by the Conservatives, he will be up against Labour candidate Siôn Simon, MEP for the West Midlands and a former Birmingham MP.

"Should Andy be successful in his application, he has agreed with the chairman that he should step down from his role and a further announcement will be made to confirm the succession plan for the future leadership of the John Lewis brand," the John Lewis partnership said.

[dutchman]

Greater Birmingham is no brainer but political realities mean it will not happen

While bemoaning the fact that the West Midlands and Birmingham lacks a global football superpower and suffers in comparison to Liverpool and Manchester, Labour mayoral candidate Siôn Simon made a very good point about marketing.

Mr Simon is right that the artificial grouping of the Black Country, Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry under the West Midlands Combined Authority banner has a big identity problem.

For years the cities of the north west have been comfortable as Greater Manchester and Merseyside (or the newly named Liverpool city region). Bolton and Wigan don't suffer identity crises over their Greater Manchester status.

They see the benefit and place their biggest city and economic pull at the centre of their ‘brand’.

Mr Simon is also right that the West Midlands is ‘not the catchiest name’ – it is a dismal title which purely defines our region by its geographical relationship to the rest of England.

So Mr Simon came to the conclusion that the West Midlands does need to build a brand to reach out to the world and in this he is probably mistaken. But for political reasons he and the others competing for votes in the Black Country and Coventry can’t argue that ‘Greater Birmingham’ is the name which would have most resonance and would be most easily understood.

The region’s leaders realised this decades ago when they named the airport after Birmingham and not Solihull and I wrongly assumed that the name ‘Greater Birmingham’ would take off informally.

But if others insist on trying to force a ‘West Midlands’ brand on an ignorant world they are putting us at a further disadvantage in the global rat race.

[Melisandre]

[rebbonk]

CCC will become the equivalent of a large parish council. Turkeys voted for Christmas!

[dutchman]

MPs told Coventry taxpayers should help to pay for Birmingham parks



A Birmingham councillor wants people from Coventry and Warwickshire to help fund the upkeep of the city’s parks.

Lisa Trickett, Birmingham City Council’s cabinet member for Clean Streets, Recycling and Environment, tried to justify the move by saying commuters driving into the city from the rest of the Midlands cause air pollution.

She told a meeting of MPs at Westminster that the funding could come through the new West Midlands Combined Authority.

Birmingham is currently struggling with its own cash crisis and an independent auditor has been called in to review its next budget following a shock £49 million overspend this year.

Coun Trickett said Birmingham’s parks saved the NHS money by cutting asthma rates, and contributed to the economy by making the city a more attractive place to live and work.

Describing parks as “natural capital”, she suggested they should be funded in a similar way to transport and housing schemes under the West Midlands devolution deal, which includes the creation of a regional Combined Authority and a West Midlands mayor.

[rebbonk]

Get stuffed, love!

[Melisandre]

To right Rebbonk they seem to find money for these scroll down a little theres quite a few on here you ll see a few new things they are doing to their city .
http://www.birminghampost.co.uk/news/regeneration/

[dutchman]

Channel 4 battle stokes fears 'Greater Birmingham' wealth will not be shared

Just one West Midlands mayor candidate has said they would support a bid to bring Channel 4 to Coventry over Birmingham.

The five candidates were asked whether efforts should be focused on bringing Channel 4 to Coventry or Birmingham as part of a potential move to relocate the television station outside of London.

But only Green Party candidate James Burn said he would support an ambitious bid, first revealed in the Telegraph , to bring the channel to the £100m Friargate development, next to Coventry railway station.

The battle to secure Channel 4 is seen by some Coventry politicians as the first real test of fears major projects and wealth would be siphoned off to Birmingham under the West Midlands Combined Authority model - commonly referred to as ‘ Greater Birmingham ’.

And the early indications aren’t good, with two other West Midlands Mayor candidates backing Birmingham - including front-runner Andy Street of the Conservative Party.

I can't imagine anyone working at Channel 4 wanting to move to Coventry?