FOR minister for the south-west and health minister Ben Bradshaw MP, the Labour Party annual conference in Bournemouth kicked off at a fringe meeting with members of the regional business community, organised by Dorset Business, the Chamber of Commerce.

Transport, housing and planning, education and manufacturing were all issues raised during discussion.

One of the key voids in local government is a cross-border view that promotes a pragmatic approach to dealing with these issues and disregarding the local authority and county borders.

Ben Bradshaw agreed that businesses and local government had to work promoting the region and overcome problems, with a multi-area-approach, crossing local authority boundaries.

President of Dorset Business Malcolm Scott Walby said: "The Chamber is trying to bring all business interests together across the region, to come up with joint solutions."

The key issues are the geography of Dorset - located on the eastern border of the South-West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA), its lack of decent road system to Poole Harbour and to Weymouth; and rural poverty in the north and west of the county, which conflicts with the reputation for this being a wealthy part of the country.

Managing director of Newsquest Southern Mike Wright said: "As an employer across Southampton, Bournemouth and Weymouth, the differences from Hampshire to Dorset are noticeable."

Business leaders such as Jim Stewart of Poole Harbour, and Gordon Page of Cobham, based at Bournemouth Airport, spoke of the slow movement in the planning process and the problems this causes to the manufacturing industry.

Last year's Dorset Business president Chris Slocock trained as a zoologist - he says planners as well as government could overcome the fears of opponents to new roads by committing sufficient resources to the environmental concerns at the same time as utilising brown field sites.

Managing director of Hall & Woodhouse David Woodhouse expressed concern that major businesses were being stifled by the slowness of the planning procedure.

Head of law at Bournemouth University Elizabeth Mytton and principal of Bournemouth and Poole College Rowland Foote expressed their support for working with Dorset Business and the business community to help students and ex-students integrate in the business community.

Ben Bradshaw encouraged Dorset Business to work with the local authorities, SWRDA and business leaders.