Keep working together urges Brighton and Hove Council Leader Bill Randall

Brighton and Hove Council Leader Bill Randall told business owners to work together to get through the recession.

He was the guest speaker at one of the twice monthly breakfast meetings held by the Brighton and Hove Chamber of Commerce for business people in the city.

Green Party member Bill said: “This is a remarkable city and we have remarkable people. We all need to work together to make things better, to ensure the prosperity is sustained,”

Bill, a respected housing journalist and former publisher has lived in Brighton for over 14 years and now represents the Hanover and Elm Grove ward.
He said; ”One of the things which has always struck me about Brighton and Hove is that there is a real spirit of partnership and that people work together and are enthusiastic about what they are doing. And it is that which we depend on so much in the very difficult times we’re in. We all know how difficult it is.

“One of the things the council are trying to do is reorganising the way we work, doing it better. It’s not just about the money, though the money is important, but we can do things better by working better.”

Bill, who announced plans to quit as Leader of the Council in December but  aims to take over as the city’s first Green mayor  in May, says the city can be proud of what we have to offer for business.

“In Brighton and Hove, we are blessed with a huge diversity of businesses.  84% of companies employ 10 or fewer people which is a virtue, in my opinion, as we don’t depend on one or two primary industries, as other places have found to their cost. I’ve been working with a group for the last two or three years aimed at promoting coastal economies, and it’s interesting when you go to these meetings. They all want to be Brighton and Hove because they’ve heard about our alternative economy.

“Our economy does not just depend on tourism like so many places. While there is all the normal business which keeps the city going which we should never forget, we have some special ones like the creative sector. There are 16,000 people working within the creative sector in the city, and of course, there is the digital sector where we have 1500 companies ranging from one man bands in their bedrooms hoping to be the next Bill Gates, to Disney.  

“We have fantastic companies such as the TV company Ricochet and Digicave, who work in augmented reality and 3D, who are members of the Brighton & Hove Chamber of Commerce. They are a very young company already transporting their knowledge to North America and Europe.  Remember the digital economy competes in an international market. We compete with people all over the world.”

But he gave a note of warning for businesses hoping for ultra-fast broadband.  At the moment, the city is not allowed to apply for speedier internet as the Government rules state the city is too small.

Mr Randall stressed the council are doing everything they can to change the Government’s mind with the ‘Let Brighton Bid’ campaign backed by Wired Sussex and The Argus.

He told the meeting that the council were lobbying hard by talking to Media and Culture Minister Jeremy Hunt and that all the local MPs are taking the issue very seriously.

“This is critical stuff for us,” he stressed. “These companies need fast broadband to develop and sell the things they do. Competition is international and we really need to promote it and believe me, we are.”

He also outlined some of the plans the council have for the city to help it through the recession.

 “As an administration, we are looking at all council-owned buildings. No-one has ever been in control of all the buildings before in one department. We are trying to rationalise them and reduce the number of buildings. We will sell off buildings we don’t need and reduce carbon footprint. “

Bill ended his talk at Carluccio’s Restaurant in Jubilee Street last Friday (27 Jan), by outlining an issue which is crucial to Brighton’s business expansion.

“One big problem is space and lack of office space. We need more flexible spaces for companies who get bigger and it can be a problem. We have lost one or two key companies which have grown and had to move out.”

He recalled when he went to watch Brighton and Hove Albion play Liverpool at the Amex. “All the conversation on Twitter afterwards was the Liverpool fans talking about the fantastic pies.“ He added the company Piglet’s Pantry started in the city but had to move out to Shoreham because they needed more space. 

Sign the Let Brighton Bid petition here. Follow the campaign on Twitter by following #LetBrightonBid

By Caroline Sutton: www.carolinesutton.co.uk

Photos: by Tony Bowall FRPS www.tonybowallphotography.com
Podcast: by Andy White of Wire World Media