EAST MIDLANDS DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

East Midlands Development Agency was set up with the aim of propelling the region into the top 20 but its commitment to Derbyshire has been questioned after it supported the decision by East Midlands Airport to add Nottingham to its name and then left Derby out of a tourism brochure. So what has the agency been doing for us? In April 1999, the world's attention was focused on the conflict in Kosova and preparations were being made for the much-awaited Millennium. Relatively little attention was paid to the setting up of yet more Government agencies. But in Labour circles, with its Government two years into power, the move was seen as crucial. One of the cornerstones of Labour's manifesto was to portray Conservative policy as being London-centric. One of the solutions was to create Regional Development Agencies and, if people living in the English regions wanted them, elected assemblies. Wales and Scotland were given the option of devolution, which they took.

So, on April 1, 1999, eight Regional Development Agencies were set up in England charged with the remit of boosting the regions. Derbyshire came under the control of the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA). Its bedfellows were Nottinghamshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Northamptonshire. The base for EMDA was to be Nottingham, which caused few ripples at the time. After all, Nottingham was the headquarters for the Government's office in the East Midlands. But the nature of EMDA's relationship with a city that bases its appeal on the Robin Hood legend has now been brought into question following recent, rather damaging, events. EMDA has been hammered by the people of this county over its role in the East Midlands Airport saga.

When the airport change was first discussed, chairman Derek Mapp was quoted as being opposed to retitling the airport after any particular city. But EMDA then supported the decision to name it after Nottingham. Then within a matter of weeks, the agency published a tourism brochure in which the executive summary failed to mention Derby but included Nottingham, Leicester and Lincoln. Ian Lodder, director of partnerships at EMDA, is adamant that Derbyshire is being served well by EMDA. He says people should stop "grumbling" - the airport renaming was a commercial decision and there was nothing his agency could do. "I am from Nottingham and I would have felt the same had the airport been named after another city," he said. "The point is that the decision has been made. We now need to focus on the airport which is a growing asset to the region."

And what of the tourism brochure? The closest reference to the city in the Destination East Midlands brochure comes under a selection of "other notable places" in the way of the Derwent Valley Mill Heritage Site. But, Mr Lodder refuses to admit that Derby's omission in the executive summary of the brochure was damaging. He says the city received due recognition in the rest of the brochure. "We have always recognised that Derby city is an immensely important part of our region," he said. He pointed out that Derby was an "access point" to other areas, implying that this was the reason the city was left out of the executive summary. But he refused to be drawn any further on the matter. However, Maurice Burgess, leader of Derby City Council, revealed that EMDA has admitted to him that it does not see the city as a "focal" point.

So how is EMDA showing that it sees this area as "immensely important" as publicly it insists does? EMDA has a current budget of £104m to spend on its main responsibilities. These are employment and training, regeneration projects and attracting inward investment. Launching the regional development agencies, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott had the grand vision of "increasing prosperity, generating wealth and improving people's quality of life". On top of this, he wanted the agencies to bring decisions closer to local people. At the time, the plans received the backing of both the trade unions and local government bodies. When the agency was set up, its target was to make the East Midlands a top 20 region in Europe.

At the time, it was in position 40 out of 77. Now this has improved to 31. The position is based on Gross Domestic Product figures, which attempts to measure the sum of incomes received by the various wealth-creating sectors of the economy like manufacturing, agriculture, service industries. EMDA is currently running 600 projects across the region. Mr Lodder says that success extends to Derbyshire, though he could not give any figures for the number of projects or monies spent. He says EMDA has been involved in crucial events in the county, such as the Rolls-Royce redundancies in the aftermath of September 11, the creation of Derby's flagship business park Pride Park and dealing with the aftermath of Foot and Mouth.

In addition, it is heavily involved in Derby's Cityscape, the £225m vision for Derby now headed by a Urban Regeneration Company. It is also encouraging aerospace support through the industry-led collective, Midlands Aerospace Alliance, formed in 2002. In April 2003, Derbyshire's Sub Regional Strategic Partnership (SSPs), aimed at targeting smaller areas - was launched and given £16.7m from EMDA over three years to boost the county's economy. The agency says it is also boosting tourism in the National Forest, the Peak District and deprived areas in North- East Derbyshire. But the Liberal Democrats have raised concerns about EMDA not reaching their targets.

For example, during this financial year, EMDA has a target of creating or safeguarding 5,150 jobs. But the half-yearly figures show that they are off target with 1,270. Most damaging is the failure to reach the target for investment. It has contributed £0.29m towards its deprived areas. It should generate £12.9m. Malcolm Bruce, Liberal Democrat shadow secretary of state for Trade and Industry, said, "The Government may claim that EMDA is on track to meet its annual targets but these half-yearly figures tell a very different story." Mr Lodder says that EMDA would meet its targets and its latest figures for the end of December showed improvement. He added that the investment targets were flawed.

Companies and organisations in Derbyshire remain divided over EMDA's impact on the county. Maurice Burgess, city council leader says EMDA should be doing a lot more. "They could emphasise the relative importance of the city alongside that of Nottingham and Leicester in tourism or any field. I know that our officers have been fighting very hard to get Derby recognised, they feel frustrated." But Dr Christopher Charlton, director of the Cromford Mills Project and Secretary of the Arkwright Society, is full of praise for EMDA, which gave £240,000 to his project. It was also involved in the bid for World Heritage Status for the Derwent Valley Mills, which includes Cromford Mill.

"EMDA is an engine for economic growth," he said. "I have heard this complaint about Nottingham but it's par for the course, there are always people who think they are on the periphery. These are the growing pains of trying to create a regional identity in a place like the East Midlands." For Mike Matthews, owner of three McDonald's restaurants in the city, which employs more than 300 people, EMDA has simply not done enough. "The focus always seems to be away from us. They are doing things in the coalfields, which is a good thing, but they don't seem to be focusing on our area," said the businessman, who is also chairman of Derby City Centre Management Team.

Members of the team behind Derbyshire's Solar Pyramid Project were left disappointed when the SSP for North Derbyshire turned down a request for £494,000 to fund its project. They are now bidding for the money from EMDA. Joint project leader Richard Lester-Swain said, "We have been involved in this project, which is a world-first for more than three years, but we haven't had any joy from EMDA." So, it remains to be seen whether EMDA can convince the uncoverted people in this area that it is a champion for Derbyshire. Then there is the hurdle of making people in this area think of themselves as East Midlanders who could be represented by an elected regional assembly. Of course, it doesn't help that the one institution in this area which did have the title East Midlands has become "Nottinghamised". (Source: Derby Evening Telegraph)

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