A BCP Council business strategy has been dubbed “wordy” by opposition councillors – although the majority Conservative group say it is inspirational and will boost business confidence.

Criticism of the document included its use of language such as “supercharge”, “cityscape” and creating “dynamic places.”

The economic development strategy proposals, which will go to the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Cabinet later in the month for approval, aims to create a better working relationship between the council and business.

Said the outline to the document: “The council will remove the barriers to productivity and invest in the environment for growth in return for businesses improving their productivity, raising wages and therefore living standards. An essential feature of the deal will be an enhanced concierge service for businesses provided by the economic development team. The overarching aim of the strategy is to become a top 20 ranked city region in terms productivity by 2026.”

But some opposition councillors told the council’s overview and scrutiny committee that much of what the council wants to deliver is outside its remit and in the hands of businesses.

Cllr Lesley Dedman said the report was “an excellent one of its kind” but said she had little idea what the council meant by ‘concierge’ service, or some of the other phrases.

Said Cllr Mark Howell: “It’s full of sweeping statements, there’s no specificity… it’s pretty vanilla. There is not much here you wouldn’t see in other authorities.”

Committee chairman Cllr Steve Bartlett said he was worried the council were trying to help business when it had yet to complete its own reorganisation: “Are we trying to run, before we can walk?” he said.

“We talk about ‘supercharging out business community’ – I’m not quite sure what that actually means.”

Portfolio holder and deputy council leader Philip Broadhead said the strategy was meant to be inspirational, with the details of how it would work to follow once the broad approach had been agreed.

He said that too often business documents were bland, saying that everything should be a priority, but this sought to focus on areas which really mattered, including promoting small and medium-sized businesses.

“It deals with how we move our businesses forward, not just survive as we come out of the pandemic,” he said.