An enterprise partnership for the Yorkshire area is urging business leaders to come forward with ideas for reviving the local economy in the wake of the pandemic and lockdown.

The York and North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) is looking to bring in people from the corporate world that can help develop a plan for moving the region forward from the lockdown, and reducing its consequences.

One of its directors is Jane Lady Gibson, who boasts years of experience within the not-for-profit sector, and she told the Yorkshire Post that anyone who has something useful to contribute would be welcome on the board of the LEP in the wake of the crisis. She went on to add that the organisation was intended to reflect the local business community and that this made diverse contributions essential.

The LEP acts as a voice for 32,250 small and micro firms and sole traders in the area, which makes it the biggest rural LEP across the whole of the UK. It operates a growth hub with managers who are offering guidance to these businesses during the current situation, but they can get additional help from specialist round-the-clock accounting services in South Yorkshire and other parts of the region if they need it.

David Kerfoot, the LEP board chair, added that people from business sectors such as building, manufacturing, tourism, food and agriculture were being particularly urgently sought.

The closing date for anyone interested to apply for a place on the board is this Sunday, May 24.