Last updated at 12:33, Saturday, 17 May 2008

Be bold, aim high and be prepared for some tough decisions is the call from the new chairman of the Carlisle Renaissance project.

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Bryan Gray heads a board of people who will shape the future of the city for generations to come.What Mr Gray does not want to see happen is what he calls the ‘lowest common denominator effect’ where original and innovative plans are compromised.

The Renaissance project was launched as a response to the 2005 floods with promises that it would create 3,000 jobs, bring £160m of private investment and transform the face of Carlisle.

And transformation is what Mr Gray is aiming for: “One of the issues that I have seen in my job over the years is that you do need to be very bold and have exciting ambitions.

“You never achieve all your ambitions, so you have to set your sights very high.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and nothing is too difficult to contemplate.”

His anything-can-happen approach includes a serious look at making changes to Castle Way with the aim of making the castle part of the city again – at least at some point in the future.

“The castle’s connectivity is one thing we will look at.

“The castle is a key part of Carlisle. I go to it quite a lot and crossing the ring road is frankly awful. We should at least consider how it could change.

“We may not be able to do everything on a short time scale, some things will take longer but if you don’t start to do them, they will never happen.”

He has had his hands in industry and commerce for decades.

But for several years he has had one foot planted in Cumbria.

Married with three grown up sons, he has had a home near Langwathby in the Eden Valley for many years.

And he will soon be moving there permanently as he takes up his post as chairman of the board which is assuming responsibility for the Renaissance project from the city and county councils.

A student of industrial and railway history (he is a keen supporter of the reopening of the Keswick-Penrith line) most of his commuting is likely to be done on the Settle-Carlisle line.

Mr Gray’s chairmanship of the Northwest Development Agency for the past six years has left him well grounded in the economic challenges faced by the county.

He is a man who likes to get involved and get things done – by co-operation, rather than coercion.

His appointment as a member of the Lake District National Park is a typical example:

“People had complained about the Authority and I thought, don’t complain, do something about it, so I did.”

He talks a lot about the ‘connectivity’ of Carlisle, it’s links to the rest of the country through the motorway, the railway, the northern relief road – and the possibility of bringing the castle back into the city.

But it is his connections with politicians and business leaders that could prove key to the success of the Renaissance project.

That and his ability to co-ordinate and persuade the right people to all pull in the right direction at the right time.

Mr Gray denied that he will have similar decision-making powers to the mayor of London: “You don’t get things done by having stripes on your shoulder but by your ability to persuade people to do things.

“People often want power but power does not always get you anywhere.

“What you need is an ability to get things done. The power of argument is the power I want.

“It would be wrong for me to say ‘this is my idea.’ I’m keen to talk to key people in Carlisle, elected representatives and business leaders.

“I know most of them already but I want to sit and talk with them and hear their views.”

Chances are, he will need all his powers of persuasion to convince not just city and county councillors but also sceptical businesses and ratepayers in Carlisle that his board’s ideas are the best way forward.

Some ideas will be painful for some people but short term pain could mean long term gain.

“We have got to make things happen. Having the ideas is one thing, making them happen is another,” he said.

“There have been transformations in Manchester, Liverpool and Preston, it is not rocket science. It is down to focus and getting things done.”

“It is where things are safe and easy.

“Things that transform will require difficult decisions to be made and have not been done before because they are too difficult.”

He points to a track record of being able to get difficult and seemingly impossible jobs done as the main reason for his appointment.

“There was talk of creating a University of Cumbria for 40 years, this time we worked out what needed to be done to make it happen and it happened.

“It was not easy, it was extremely difficult but it was achieved because there was a desire to do it.

“It is often down to knowing who can get things done.

“That is where leadership and the board is important: it is the knowledge of contacts and experience of the board that can get things done.

“That is why I was chosen. I know how to make things happen and how to get the best out of people.”

He points to the variety of projects he has been involved in to back up his claims: the University; Media City in Manchester – which involves the relocation of a major part of the BBC from London – the development of Britain’s Energy Coast in West Cumbria.

As chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company, he has helped organise the city’s European capital of culture year.

And on a football front, taking Preston North End from Division Three obscurity when he took over chairmanship in 1994 to the Division One play-off finals in May 2001.

His first experience of Carlisle was when he came as chairman of Preston North End to Brunton Park.

“I have always thought Carlisle had huge potential, which is not fully recognised within Carlisle or Cumbria.”

That has now changed, he reckons, with both the city and the county councils aware of how much needs to be done and how much could be achieved.

“There is a recognition that Carlisle could punch its weight more and become a city region – a city at the heart of a wider catchment area,” added Mr Gray.

“A place to go for work or pleasure, Carlisle is not seen in that way but it could and should be.”

He is adamant that Carlisle should not model itself on any other city but should try to maintain and enhance its own character.

He said: “It’s important not to set sights on being the next anything.

“Every place is different and needs to find its own personality and character, not aspire to be anything else.

“Liverpool wanted to be too much like Manchester but once it stopped wanting to be like something else, it blossomed.”

Mr Gray was one of four candidates interviewed for the post of chairman.

Ian McNichol, the city council’s director of Renaissance, acted as advisor on the appointment.

He said: “We were looking for experience and he has that in spades.

“We wanted someone able to bring a focus to what we are doing.

“There is a lot that we could be doing but only a small number of things that we should.

“We also wanted someone who knows what drives the other organisations likely to be involved and Bryan has also shown his commitment to this type of work and his ability to deliver under very difficult circumstances.”

Mr McNichol has just been named the new programme director to work alongside the board and ensure their ideas are carried out.

He said the first board meeting was expected to be held in late June or early July.

It is expected to produce a plan of action in September for adoption by the city and county authorities.

“The emphasis is then on the two authorities to deliver that plan.”

Mr Gray insists that the aim for him and his board is simple: outline the work that needs to be done and make sure it gets done.

“It is essential to be really bold and go for transformation,” he said.

“What are the things that need to happen to really transform Carlisle and let’s do those things.

“We have to pinpoint the handful of things we need to do to transform Carlisle to be an important city.”

First published at 05:33, Friday, 16 May 2008
Published by http://www.cumberlandnews.co.uk