New Business Partnership to Promote Perth & Kinross and Tackle Region’s Challenges
Perth and Kinross Business Partnership aiming to transform perceptions and fortunes of region
Chamber of Commerce, GrowBiz and Perthshire Local represent thousands of local businesses
Business expertise will help give Perth and Kinross Council a more powerful national voice
New partnership formed at critical juncture for region with opening of new £27m Perth Museum
“Whether businesses are based in a rural or urban area, we want the new Partnership to be a two-way channel of communication to help us understand and champion local business priorities.”
Jackie Brierton, CEO of GrowBiz Scotland and Co-Chair of the Partnership
A new business partnership has been formed in Perth and Kinross to give the region a more powerful voice and profile, attract national funding and investment, and collaborate to tackle the challenges facing Perth and satellite towns across the area.
The Perth and Kinross Business Partnership (PKBP) brings together Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, rural enterprise body GrowBiz Scotland and Perthshire Local, which collectively represent around 3,000 businesses in the region.
It will initially be co-chaired by Jackie Brierton, CEO of GrowBiz Scotland, and Steven Stewart, who has been a Director of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce for 15 years.
The formation of the Partnership comes at a critical time for the region, with hopes that the new £27m Perth Museum will attract thousands of new visitors and millions of pounds in additional business revenue.
Founding partners of PKBP will remain membership organisations in their own right but collaborate on a range of big picture issues.
They are looking to work with Perth and Kinross Council to tackle the region’s challenges and raise the region’s profile to maximise the opportunities around greater national funding, inward investment and sustainable growth.
Immediate priorities will include addressing the impact of the ongoing cost of living crisis, business closures, empty retail units and reduced footfall in Perth city centre and other towns, labour and skills shortages, transport challenges, and entrenched pockets of poverty in the region.
At the same time, PKBP wants to work to address misconceptions about the region, which is one of the most entrepreneurial in the UK, has higher-than-average self-employment, and is a leader in tourism, food and drink, eco innovation and creative industries.
Perth and Kinross has more than 8,000 companies, dominated by small and micro enterprises, with many more sole traders and a growing social enterprise community.
The region is also home to major employers, such as Aviva, Highland Spring, Castle Water, SSE, and Stagecoach, as well as several prominent business figures, property investors, construction companies and hotels.
The Partnership is aiming to be a go-to forum for local businesses to engage with local decision-makers, make their voice heard, and get support for their ideas and innovations.
Vicki Unite, Chief Executive of Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “By working together – and collaborating with Perth and Kinross Council and other agencies - we believe we can give the region a stronger voice at a Scottish and UK level to better promote what we offer and secure a better share of national funding.”
Jackie Brierton, CEO of GrowBiz Scotland, said: “Whether businesses are based in a rural or urban area, we want the new Partnership to be a two-way channel of communication to help us understand and champion local business priorities.”
Iain Fenwick, Director of Perthshire Local, said: “There is a huge amount of business experience and expertise in our region, which we can better utilise to help transform our city and towns and drive greater prosperity for everyone locally.”
The launch of the new Partnership has been welcomed by Perth and Kinross Council. Council Leader, Grant Laing, said: “Perth and Kinross has so much to offer, a case that was clearly made with the positive reaction from national and international investors who visited the new Perth Museum during last week’s Scottish Cities Alliance event. Business leaders who have already made their own commitments to investing and growing in the area are ideally placed to identify where there are more opportunities for our economy. We are committed to continuing to work in partnership with the business community across the region, listening to their feedback and ideas and how we can make progress through further collaboration.”
The Partnership is open to any business based in Perth and Kinross. It will look to use opportunities to influence local development plans and economic policy, as well as contributing to anti-poverty measures and programmes.
It has already secured the support of the Kinross Partnership, which was set up to drive forward economic, social and environmental sustainability in the Kinross-shire area. Other business-related organisations across Perth and Kinross are being encouraged to join the Partnership, which plans to build on its already strong relationship with key local partner Business Gateway as well as working with other support and member organisations.
PKBP has set up a website - www.perthandkinross.com - where businesses can find further information and join the Partnership.