Your county needs you!

A key role in the regeneration of Leicester and Leicestershire is due to be filled any time soon.

A group of leading business figures are in the process of persuading one of two successful business people to become chairman of the city and county's Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

Presumably they are telling him or her: Your city and county needs you!

Six candidates responded to an advert for the unpaid part-time post late last year. All were rejected after not meeting the criteria. Leicester Shire Business Council, the group charged with filling the post, then switched to head hunting.

The LEP, which needs to be up and running by April, is the Tory-led Government's 'localist' alternative to regional development agencies such as Emda, who are set to close next year.

Despite my best efforts, I've been unable to find out the names of those who unsuccessfully applied for the job and the names of the two who have been approached. What I do know is that the business council is talking to two successful business people, one of who is likely to be named as the chairman shortly.

I also know that Brian Stein, the popular chief executive of Melton-based food giant Samworth Brothers and chairman of Leicestershire Cares, has not expressed an interest in taking the role, despite being a favourite among a number of senior business figures. He wants to concentrate on the jobs he already has.

The search for a LEP chairman may have been overshadowed by the race to become the city's first directly-elected mayor, but whoever gets the job will play an extremely important role in the creation of jobs and attracting businesses to the city and county.

The LEP's role will be to bid for Government funding for regeneration projects, a crucial responsibility given that the city's redevelopment masterplan has been on hold since the recession.

Peter Doleman, head of commercial property agent Innes England's Leicester office, last week questioned whether the second phase of the city's new business quarter, next to the railway station, will ever happen. A £9 million Government grant aimed at kick starting the £150 million scheme fell victim to spending cuts last summer.

The LEP chairman will be faced with the challenge of finding alternative forms of funding. Given the current economic situation, this will require the skills of an experienced and proven performer.

Keep an eye on the Leicester Mercury and http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/ for a possible announcement in the days ahead.