The Richard Spooner Column: At last it 's Cities United�
My heart was warmed this week when I was invited to an event which confirmed that peace had broken out across the big cities in our region.
That wasn 't always the case, and I was disappointed that other duties prevented me from attending a breakfast event at the Macdonald Burlington Hotel in the centre of Birmingham yesterday.
The glitterati of Birmingham, Coventry and Wolverhampton were all there as part of a series put together by Movers & Shakers, who describe themselves as the UK 's leading property and construction forum operating for over 25 years.
They certainly arranged a stellar line-up including Deborah Cadman, interim chief executive of Birmingham City Council, Tim Johnson, chief executive of Wolverhampton City Council and Martin Reeves, chief executive of Coventry City Council.
In her invitation, Leigh Natasha Salter, managing director of Movers & Shakers, explained that the purpose of the gathering was to discuss how the alliance between the three cities would drive inward investment, particularly in real estate.
Private sector leaders also joined the debate that would have taken on a very different hue within my living memory (238 years, since you ask). There was a time when the three city regions were all vying to be the car production capital of the country.
Coventry, home at various times to Morris Motors, Standard Motors, Triumph, Jaguar, Peugeot, Chrysler, British Leyland and others would have a strong claim but Birmingham and Wolverhampton would equally point out their heavy credentials for playing a huge part of the production of the UK 's many marques.
Apart from the important and welcome presence of Jaguar Land Rover in Birmingham and Solihull, there is now little left to remind us of the days which saw tens of thousands or workers streaming to huge production plants every morning.
Other rivalries included those of football as local derbies fluctuated with the fortunes of each club. There was a time when all five major clubs in the region - Aston Villa, Birmingham City, Wolverhampton, West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City - were playing in the top division. Not the case today.
I 'll be interested to read the outcomes from yesterday 's breakfast gathering and to hear what they felt about the government 's agenda for building 'Back-to-business '.
The event explored the opportunities for collaboration and 'good growth ' along with how the alliance will work. How will it underpin growth across the region, covering the priorities, the challenges, and above all, the opportunities that the alliance can deliver.
There were many questions to be answered about this Three Cities Alliance. We look forward to hearing them�
I 'VE heard of some long-winded job titles in my time but the latest comes from an American international technical professional services firm which has an office in Birmingham.
Among their staff is someone who rejoices in the title of: People and places solutions senior vice president for Europe and digital strategies and honorary STEM ambassador.
Our favourite job titles (not necessary long) include Mondelez 's “head of chocolate (Europe) ” and the former employee of mobile phone giant Orange who was called the “director of futurology and Imagineering ”. He was a popular speaker at a Birmingham breakfast gathering that used to attract up to 500 people every month.