Representatives from a range of businesses – as well as local authorities – were in attendance and were asked to rank some of the priorities for the economy to help feed into a manifesto for the region that is being produced by the Chamber to release later in the year.
It comes at a time when the Government is looking to devolve more powers to the regions and Sarah Windrum, chair of the Local Business Forum, said businesses had a big role to play.
She said: “There is a drive to move power out of Whitehall and into the regions and that is coming to Warwickshire.
“How exactly that might look is yet to be decided but we know that across Warwickshire, District and County Councils local leaders are looking at options to simplify the current structures to make financial savings and streamline decision making.
“In this region, we’re in the unusual situation where Coventry is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority and Warwickshire is not, yet Coventry and Warwickshire still sits together strategically as a sub-regional economy.
“It’s important to remember businesses don’t operate according to political boundaries and, again, there are currently anomalies where one company could have access to a support programme and another, just a short distance away, would not because of the postcode they are operating under.
“That is why it is so important that the regional business voice is heard and that is why our Local Business Forums are so important.
“We had an excellent turnout at the Weston Hall Hotel and it was great to get everyone’s input into our manifesto.”
Corin Crane, chief executive of Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “We are speaking to businesses right across Coventry and Warwickshire to pull together our manifesto and it’s really important to get the input from those in the north of the county.
“As well as being part of Warwickshire, the north of Warwickshire is close to Birmingham and also south Leicestershire so, in many ways, is in a really sweet spot economically.
“So, it’s vital that we get the views of our members in that area so that’s reflected in our manifesto which will be an economic blueprint for decision-makers in our region.”
