Former Tesco chief executive Sir Terry Leahy is set to become a board member of a Liverpool City Region local enterprise partnership (LEP), which was proposed by the city council today.

The LEP will take on planning and regeneration powers currently held by the North West Development Agency, and it will have a majority of private sector board members.

Councils in Halton, Sefton, Knowsley, Liverpool, St Helens and Wirral have all signed up to the bid, which also includes Peter Nears, strategic planning director of Peel Holdings on its board.

One aim of the LEP will be to remove the region’s reliance on public sector employment and government grants.

The 27-page bid document, which was submitted to communities secretary Eric Pickles, also calls for freedom over how public sector resources are distributed, including enterprise and business development, skills, housing and transport.

The bid says the LEP would concentrate on major projects such as the Liverpool SuperPort, the Atlantic Gateway, Liverpool Waters and Wirral Waters.

There would also be “an emphasis on support for small firms and accelerating business development.”

Joe Anderson, leader of Liverpool City Council, said the Liverpool economy lagged behind the national average and this needed to change.

“Together with our private sector partners, we believe we have put together a compelling argument which will see us working hand in glove with the government to transform the local economy.

“We will bring together the business acumen of some of the country’s top performing companies linked with strong political leadership and backed by our excellent universities and colleges.

“Our priority is to move from an economy dominated by the public sector to one where the majority of jobs are in the private sector, created by entrepreneurs and businesses.”“We firmly believe we have the assets, capacity, skills and commitment to close the economic and skills gap between our region and the rest of the UK.”

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