Results tagged “ICC” from Birmingham Post - Business Blog

In an interview with the FT today, the "new, enthusiastic" transport secretary Geoff Hoon says he has ordered a review to find infrastructure projects within his brief that can help Gordon Brown stimulate demand with a spending spree on public works projects.

But, he says, he can't find enough that have existing planning permission.

"I'd like to play my part ... I wish I could get out my spade and start digging," Hoon tells the FT.

Why doesn't he pay a visit to Birmingham then? There is a project right on our doorstep that has been granted a Transport and Works Act Order (the equivalent of planning permission for these sorts of things).

I was told we were having "a fat day" when we hit the tourist trail in Birmingham city centre at the weekend.

Not being a follower of any of the Australian soaps this was not a phrase I was familiar with - but the meaning of the ICC delegate who had travelled many thousands of miles to be here was absolutely clear: both he and our family were having a great day out.

As Birmingham continues to compete on the world stage for both tourism and business visitors, it's very useful (and sometimes rewarding) for us local PR people to see the 'product' through the eyes of others.

Our guests from Wales - including an ex-Brummie who had left around thirty years ago - were thoroughly impressed and even casting envious eyes on the canalside apartments. The city has so much to offer compared to their rural abode. Though personally I still prefer the beach near their Welsh home to the one in Chamberlain Square.

Our children loved the boat trip and had a great time at the Myths and Monsters exhibition. They were also fascinated by the motorbike displays in the ICC mall - which is where we met the friendly Australian business visitor.

All of us doing business in Birmingham are tied up, whether we like it or not, with the reputation of the city. We help create it and we are measured by it.

Your address is a part of your company image. That's presumably why big corporates like tall buildings (and why helicopter shots of Canary Wharf feature in the title sequence of 'The Apprentice' even though Sir Alan Sugar's office is miles away in Brentwood.

Or it's why traditional craft industries like to use pictures of country cottages and rural workshops in their literature.