A heated debate has emerged in Tamworth over proposals to have businesses at the Tamworth Enterprise Centre display council branding. The borough’s enterprise centres, though currently running at a loss, host businesses with impressive success records. However, plans to encourage firms to promote the council by featuring its logo on their materials have sparked controversy.
During a recent Prosperity, Place and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting, members discussed whether tenants of the Enterprise Centre, which opened in 2017, should be asked to showcase the Tamworth Borough Council logo or a similar indication of their origin in Tamworth on their websites and letterheads.
While the committee recommended that council officials approach businesses about incorporating council branding, the suggestion met with mixed reactions.
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Council leader Carol Dean supported a gentle approach, stating, “While I think everyone recognized 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.”
However, Councillor Nova Arkney, portfolio holder for infrastructure and local economy, strongly opposed the idea, branding the proposal as ‘entitled’. Arkney argued that in challenging economic times, it is unfair to expect businesses—who are already focused on promoting their own services and managing finances—to also market the council’s services.
“I do think that asking businesses to promote the business centre isn’t necessarily fair on people who are customers of ours,” Arkney said. “There is something of entitlement from a council to say please can you promote our services when businesses have a lot on their plate.”
She emphasized her perspective as a small business owner herself, noting, “Businesses have so many things to think about, and we’re asking them things all the time. 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.”
The council leader acknowledged the sensitivity of the matter and reassured that no forced mandates would be imposed. “It was seen as being a very softly softly approach,” Dean said. “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.”
The ongoing discussion highlights the delicate balance between supporting local businesses and promoting public services amid challenging economic conditions.