Yankee Doodle (From Warrington Guardian)

Yankee Doodle

AMERICAN business consultant Arwen Reed was so impressed with City Growth St Helens that she crossed the Atlantic from her Boston home to work here.

Arwen, aged 27, worked for the past four years at the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC) in Boston - the parent organisation for pioneering the City Growth ideology and who act as consultants for the City Growth pilot schemes in the UK.

"I've been involved with the initiative from the beginning of the pilot schemes and throughout the entire process was very impressed with the degree of dedication, excellence and 'buy in' of the project by St Helens", says Arwen.

"The town has really been at the top of all the pilot schemes with other City Growth pilots often looking at St Helens as the model to follow.

"There is more private sector buy in than in any of the other pilot schemes and the potential for City Growth St Helens to have real impact is tremendous".

Although still settling in to her role as City Growth Officer, Arwen has been impressed with the friendliness of people across the Borough and the warm welcome she has received from colleagues and businesses alike.

Adds Arwen: "Local people and businesses really have the vision and can see the tremendous potential of City Growth and, importantly, they are excited by it".

Arwen is based at the City Growth office at Waterside on the Technology Campus.