A Tamworth councillor has labelled plans to request businesses display council branding as 'entitled' amid a dispute over the borough's enterprise centres.
Council chiefs were discussing whether firms using Tamworth Enterprise Centre ought to be encouraged to promote the council and the fact that they were 'born and raised in Tamworth'.
The prosperity, place and environment overview and scrutiny committee recently received an update on Tamworth Enterprise Centres, which launched in 2017.
Members were told that the facility is currently running at a loss, despite businesses based there boasting a strong track record of success.
Committee members were keen to establish whether businesses occupying the space were, or could be, requested to feature the Tamworth Borough Council logo or a suitable alternative on their letterheads and websites to highlight the council's involvement.
They put forward a recommendation that council chiefs approach businesses using the centres about incorporating council branding.
Council leader Carol Dean, who attended the meeting, said: “While I think everyone recognised we couldn’t force anyone to do it, it would be a very nice thing if they were willing to put a little logo on their paperwork and just to acknowledge the fact they are in one of our buildings really.”
Councillor Nova Arkney, portfolio holder for infrastructure and local economy, hit back by arguing that expecting businesses to publicise the enterprise centres was neither 'fair' nor appropriate, describing it as 'entitled' at a time when trading conditions are already challenging for many firms.
She stated: “I do think that asking businesses to promote the business centre isn’t necessarily fair on people who are customers of ours. I think we can certainly encourage them to promote it at the moment across our enterprise function. We try and work with lots of businesses to promote Tamworth.
“I think there is something of entitlement from a council to say please can you promote our services when businesses have a lot on their plate, promoting their own services, keeping track of their bottom line, at a time which is difficult for businesses.
“So I would say this is quite a lot to ask businesses, to change their branding, to add extra things to what they have to do already to promote our services. I’m not sure that strikes the right chord for me with our local business owners.”
The council leader remarked: “It was seen as being a very softly softly approach. We weren’t going to demand that people do things, it was just if they felt they could and maybe online. If they don’t want to, if they really don’t like us as their landlord and they don’t want to, then we definitely wouldn’t go down the route of saying you’d got to.”
Councillor Arkney, who also runs a small business, responded: “As their landlord, I just think businesses have so many things to think about and we’re asking them things all the time and I just don’t think that it strikes the right chord to be asking for a favour from the businesses that are using our spaces.”
