‘Work together to put region on the global stage’

Nigel Foster, who is a director with engineering consultancy Arup, also said that infrastructure investment must be secured to help Leeds become more competitive.

Mr Foster made the comments at the Leeds Chamber Annual Lunch, which attracted more than 330 guests to the Queens Hotel in Leeds yesterday.

Mr Foster, who took over the presidency from Gary Lumby, the head of retail and small business banking at Yorkshire Bank, said the public and private sectors must work together to ensure Leeds attracts investors and the best corporate talent.

Mr Foster told the Yorkshire Post: “It’s recognised in the UK that we’ve been under-investing in infrastructure for some time. In Leeds and the Leeds city region, we’ve been working on a transport strategy with Metro and the transport panel and that’s now developing into a series of projects that they aim to deliver.

“So working together, the Government, the private sector and the local authorities, can deliver the investment needed for transport infrastructure.”

He said he wanted “the rest of the world to see how we have done things in the city, and in the city region”.

“The best way of doing that is working in partnership. I don’t think it’s (just) about the private sector or the public sector or the third sector.

“It’s about how do those different parts of the economy work together to make things happen.”

He said an “outward facing approach” was vital to attract investors.

He added: “Some businesses are doing very well, other businesses are finding it more difficult. We will be in a period of uncertainty for some time.”

During his speech, Mr Foster said that the chamber was supporting business in an “influential and dynamic way”.

He told the audience: “By lobbying for a pro-growth approach to development, investment and job creation in the city and forging strong partnerships with local and national policymakers, the chamber and its membership is playing a crucial role in shaping the future of Leeds.

“I hope you will all be aware of the Leeds City Region’s bid to host the coalition’s Green Investment Bank, which is aimed at accelerating growth in the low carbon economy.

“Together with a coalition of private sector organisations, which includes the Leeds City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, CO2Sense and Financial Leeds, the chamber has been instrumental in formulating this bid, which has already been well received by ministers, including Mark Prisk (the Business Minister) who commended the strength of our bid at the Leeds city-region sum- mit.

“The Leeds City Region’s bid offers the perfect location for the Green Investment Bank with its location at the heart of the UK, access to expertise in the financial and professional services and low-carbon sectors and also its commercial value for money.”

Mr Foster highlighted a number of city centre developments, which should stimulate economic growth by attracting visitors.

These include Land Securities’ Trinity retail scheme and the new Leeds Arena, which is due to open in 2013.

He added: “However, while there is great potential we cannot afford to become complacent and take our eye off the ball.

“We are not competing with Sheffield or across the Pennines. If we want to attract investment, growing businesses, and the most talented minds we need to be competing with places like Melbourne, Munich, Shanghai, Mumbai, and Barcelona. We face intense global competition.

“For example, in the Middle and Far East, vast cities are being created from scratch, while others such as the Scandinavian cities of Copenhagen, Stockholm and Helsinki, are investing billions of pounds in the reinvigoration and urban development of their cities.”

Mr Foster also praised the New East Leeds project. This project will see the private and public sectors working in partnership, using the chamber as a broker, to transform a struggling part of the city.

Tom Riordan, the chief executive of Leeds City Council, who also made a speech, added: “As the UK’s third largest city and the biggest city-region outside London, we need to step up and get the message across to national and international investors that we are open for business.

“The success of attracting the NHS Commissioning Board and the Trinity and Eastgate retail developments to the city should be just the start of getting new jobs into the area.

“The quality of partnership working needs to match our ambition so that ‘Team Leeds’ is the driving force for us becoming a child friendly, green, creative and job-rich city fit for the challenges of the 21st century.”

The chance to be number one

The leader of Leeds City Council yesterday said he believed Leeds could become the best city in the UK by 2030.

Speaking at Leeds Chamber Annual Lunch at the Queens Hotel, Coun Keith Wakefield said that his “immediate focus” was to create jobs, while continuing to fight for the “big investment” that Leeds and the city region needed to prosper.

Coun Wakefield outlined the Vision for Leeds, which was developed by the Leeds Initiative, a partnership which brings together the public, private and voluntary sectors.

He said Leeds should be a city where businesses are encouraged to innovate and grow and local people choose “sustainable” travel options.