Preston must believe
Making Preston recognise its potential is the biggest battle facing one of the city's business leaders.
Frank McKenna, chairman of Downtown Business in Preston (DPIB), admits the challenge remains his "biggest frustration" a year after setting up the group.
The ex-politician believes the city needs to find its voice over the next 12 months if it is to take advantage of the millions of pounds to be pumped into its regeneration.
DPIB, which has built up a membership of more than 50 businesses based largely on the city's professional firms, celebrates its first anniversary by hosting Lancashire Business Week, which gets underway next Monday.
The former Lancashire County Council deputy leader said: "I do not think Preston is ambitious enough or realises what potential it has.
"We can see how fantastic the place is and yet there are people who should be out there banging the drum for us who are not.
"The biggest problem we have had in the last year is when we get people interested, where do we send them?
"If we had ICI wanting to set up here, where would you send them? Preston Council does not have the resources, Lancashire County Council has other priorities as well as Preston, which leaves the North West Development Agency (NWDA) which also has other priorities."
He said the gap underlined the "crucial" job to be played by the Preston Vision Board, the public-private body set up to drive regeneration plans.
Mr McKenna said next week's Business Week would be the start of the "important debate" into the future of Preston.
Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell and NWDA chief executive Steven Broomhead will be the keynote speakers at the opening event on Monday, when DPIB will announce the results of its Lancashire Business Survey.
The chairman said: "We want people to contribute to the week, we do not want it to be just about people coming to talk about what they want, it is a proper debate.
"From that we will draw up a manifesto with some key objectives which we can then work to achieve."
* DPIB has sold out its annual Business Oscars awards ceremony at Stanley House Hotel in Mellor, near Preston, on Thursday, May 29.
Lancashire Business Week schedule
Monday, June 3: Lancashire Means Business, Preston
College
Keynote speech from James Purnell, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, and results of the Lancashire Business Survey by the NWDA and Moore and Smalley.
Tuesday, June 4: Can opposites attract? Holiday Inn, Preston
Preston Council chief executive Jim Carr to address an invitation-only audience on the challenges of getting the public sector and private sector working together.
Wednesday, June 5: Pennine Lancashire, Stanley House Hotel, Mellor
Yvette Livesey, the widow of music mogul Tony Wilson, talks to an invitation-only audience about the couple's creation of the Pennine Lancashire brand for the east of the county.
Thursday, June 6: The Line Between Success and Failure, UCLan Media Factory, Preston
Lancashire's most successful entrepreneurs, including former Preston North End chief executive Steve Jackson, discuss what makes a successful entrepreneur.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Preston
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 11 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 14 C to 19 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: North west
