Small business getting undue hassle from WCBC
-
Posts
-
Nice statistical reference Alun, but incomplete. You failed to mention that 95% of the SME’s referred to are classed as ‘micro’, employing less than 9 people and furthermore, many of those enterprises are founded out of necessity, brought on by redundancies, closures etc. Could just be one person and a.n.other.
Are you and zinger seriously suggesting that a person who has gone down that road will have developed the skills and business acumen to ‘step up’? And zinger, how do you define success? Is it keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads, or is it something more? And let’s not forget, many people choose to work for an employer, in senior positions, I might add. Have they not something to offer too?.
Perhaps you should campaign for another change to the Electoral Reform Act.
As I have stated previously, I much prefer for my representatives to have wide ranging backgrounds than be represented by those with cloistered attitudes.@BenjaminM 10032 wrote:
…
Are you and zinger seriously suggesting that a person who has gone down that road will have developed the skills and business acumen to ‘step up’? And zinger, how do you define success? Is it keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads, or is it something more? And let’s not forget, many people choose to work for an employer, in senior positions, I might add. Have they not something to offer too? …The reality is that Wrexham does not have the skill base (nor mass of) to be competitive in the economic region / travel time – in which it operates.
@BenjaminM 10032 wrote:
Nice statistical reference Alun, but incomplete. You failed to mention that 95% of the SME’s referred to are classed as ‘micro’, employing less than 9 people and furthermore, many of those enterprises are founded out of necessity, brought on by redundancies, closures etc. Could just be one person and a.n.other.
Are you and zinger seriously suggesting that a person who has gone down that road will have developed the skills and business acumen to ‘step up’? And zinger, how do you define success? Is it keeping food on the table and a roof over their heads, or is it something more? And let’s not forget, many people choose to work for an employer, in senior positions, I might add. Have they not something to offer too?.
Perhaps you should campaign for another change to the Electoral Reform Act.
As I have stated previously, I much prefer for my representatives to have wide ranging backgrounds than be represented by those with cloistered attitudes.I’m not actually suggesting anything really except that it is an interesting idea. I think that you’re being a little literal here Benjamin. I’m actually all for people of any backgrounds, any sex and any race playing their part in the future of Wrexham PLC. Personally, I like to see a track record and generally that is the case. The fact that a person has set something up and has run something usually suggests that they have had some sort of Marketing experience, some sort of Budget experience, some sort of experience of dealing with Customers, etc. Other people will see it a different way. For me, if other people want to vote for someone who has no experience of anything, has had limited career horizons and so on, fine.
What people do you personally like to see on Councils Benjamin?
Working for yourself, whether as you put it, to put bread on the table or set up a large company, you don’t waste money. That is where the saying “Rags to riches & back to rags in 3 generations” comes in. If you have never set up a business, it is always someone else’s money. With government, local or otherwise, it is our money that gets wasted.
I suppose that if I were to draw a personality profile of my ideal Councillor, it would consist of the following elements.
Essential: Intelligent. Articulate. Ability to analyse to achieve satisfactory solutions. Represent the wishes of his/ her electorate without interference. Have a degree of empathy and conviction to his/ her mandate. Be proactive.
Desirable: Well rounded life experiences. Youth. Progressive and forward thinking.
There are other elements that are desirable, but I think my thoughts have been made reasonably clear by the above.
What I do not understand however, is the reason why Independent Councillors find the need to form an alliance/ group as I see that as a complete contradiction in terms.
Of the existing WCBC Councillors, far too many act like nodding donkeys who never raise their heads above the parapet, but are quite ready to receive their remuneration on a regular basis.
Contrary to widely held views, I do not believe that the older a person is, the more they know and for this reason, I pray that the electorate acknowledge that Wrexham will not progress whilst the ‘old stagers’ remain in office.
As the saying goes…. A good young one will beat a good old one…. Anytime.@wxm 10033 wrote:
The reality is that Wrexham does not have the skill base (nor mass of) to be competitive in the economic region / travel time – in which it operates.
Business and trade is the front line to give people skills that underpin society. As said in this forum, handling customers, budgeting successfully, and making things. Trade creates the economy and money on which we all rely. Trade develops leaders. For those who do not want to lead, as a community, we must focus on excellence in areas such as STEM (science, engineering, maths) … as one example of how we must support our schools and education system to give people the capability to achieve higher earnings that are clearly sought in studies and surveys.
It is business that created the country and opportunity we have today.
A committee of one person who is intelligent. articulate with the ability to analyse to achieve satisfactory solutions, in an ideal world would be wonderful. The problem is that a committee/ council is not just one person with those qualities. It is a number of strong minded people with differing views as to what is important. The ones with the loudest voices, articulate or not, are not necessarily the most intelligent. Common sense is a quality which is often overlooked.
@wxm 10037 wrote:
Business and trade is the front line to give people skills that underpin society. As said in this forum, handling customers, budgeting successfully, and making things. Trade creates the economy and money on which we all rely. Trade develops leaders. For those who do not want to lead, as a community, we must focus on excellence in areas such as STEM (science, engineering, maths) … as one example of how we must support our schools and education system to give people the capability to achieve higher earnings that are clearly sought in studies and surveys.
It is business that created the country and opportunity we have today.
It’s almost the other way around. Business and trade will always be created, it’s how you encourage it develop here.
The most common-sense paragraph I’ve read on the council website:
The more people who want to build their lives, pursue their ambitions or spend money here, the wealthier the County Borough will be with a better quality of life for everyone. We need however to build the right physical environment and the right image or profile of the area.
Link: WCBC: Council Plan 2013-2017 – Strategic Theme: Economy
Wanting to increase education standards is an obvious goal but does it really benefit the local economy if Wrexham is not attractive to young professional people? Furthermore, if we struggle to retain these individuals who have family/emotional connections to Wrexham, is it not more difficult to attract people from the surrounding area other than perhaps offering marginally lower house prices..?
Buckle down for a huge generalisation: skilled, professional people generally go on to raise skilled, professional children. That’s how you grow a local economy.
There needs to be a tangible change (not just marketing fluff) to broaden the appeal of the town – we are some way off achieving it..
@zinger 10038 wrote:
A committee of one person who is intelligent. articulate with the ability to analyse to achieve satisfactory solutions, in an ideal world would be wonderful. The problem is that a committee/ council is not just one person with those qualities. It is a number of strong minded people with differing views as to what is important. The ones with the loudest voices, articulate or not, are not necessarily the most intelligent. Common sense is a quality which is often overlooked.
Darwin nailed it.. :)
“Ignorance more frequently begets confidence than does knowledge…”
Having read the material published “Council Plan 2012 to 2016”: the first thing needed is readily available information to see how Wrexham is performing against the plan it has set. For example, this source should be updated with the STEAM information due in May 2013, and all the “outcome indicators” should be tracking data that demonstrates an improvement or a decline.
Bureaucracy and “cultural attitude” is not listed: which have become essential subjects in a locality to enable business to thrive. Bureaucracy makes an area anti competitive, and has to be overcome by the right cultural attitude to champion business, and not stifle opportunity.
The question is, will the three objective areas set out in the plan, really make an impact on the GVA/GDP (Gross Value Added / Gross Domestic Product) of Wrexham. Probably not. The economy is much bigger than the stated objectives and outcomes can impact upon ie:
Sustain: Number of new businesses assisted by Wrexham County Borough Council – 70
Improve: Percentage of WCBC lettable commercial property occupied – 78
Improve: Number of qualified investment enquiries – greater than 200
Improve: Number of registered businesses – 1% increase
Improve: Number of jobs created – 30
Who is accountable for delivering this plan, how is progress, and have any changes and developments been made to take into account the size of the economy that the plan is aimed to impact upon?
How have the people accountable for this plan, positively interfaced with our entrepreneurial Dog Groomer, and positively helped in his/her quest?
You must be logged in to reply to this topic.
