Hot topics HOT TOPICS
M4 relief road – a good or bad idea?
Brain drain from Gwent – what can be done to stop it?
Where should a Wales business hub be based and why?
30 THEbusiness QUARTER
Q Q
Q
Harding Evans
A
Recently we have seen the catastrophic result of having the M4 closed due to an incident in the Brynglas tunnels. Although it is an occasional event the results to business can be significant. In a time of immense pressure on businesses, with little latitude on deadlines and cash flow, the inability to make deliveries, open businesses, get into work and the like are debilitating to say the least. There is a requirement for an alternative when the M4 is closed as the small inner city roads are not up to the task. For now, when such problems arise, south east Wales makes the headlines for all the wrong reasons.
There may be a brain drain in other sectors but we are benefitting in fact from a movement of solicitors from Cardiff firms to Newport. We are able to attract high calibre lawyers who recognise the opportunities in being located in Newport and in the areas of what was Gwent. The growth and development of the University of Wales, Newport also provides us with a means of capturing and retaining individuals who can contribute to our future as a business. In this corner of South Wales, we have to be alive to the draw of Bristol as a place to work/live, but like any business in the region, we want the best business talent in Wales to stay in Wales.
The business hub for Wales is already very firmly established in Cardiff. As the capital city, Cardiff benefits from large local and large national and multi-national employers, based in and around the city-region. Cardiff boasts a growing economy and already has a modern ICT and transport infrastructure and convenient access to the rest of the UK. Investors are perhaps more willing to put money into an established capital city with an increasing profile internationally. Of course, the gap between Cardiff and Newport is shrinking and we are quite sure that Newport will continue to reap the benefits of that proximity. With the increased levels of development in Newport’s transport system, convenient access to the rest of the UK, cheaper parking and more economical commercial space, etc, we are well placed to develop alongside Cardiff’s Business Hub.
Kymin
A
The M4 Relief Road would be good for the economy of Newport and south east Wales. It would do two things. Create jobs in the short term while being built but, more importantly, it would radically improve transport links with the rest of the motorway network and alleviate the daily bottleneck around the Brynglas tunnels. This would over time bring much needed inward investment to the area.
It is not only Gwent that is experiencing ‘brain drain’. Britain as a whole is suffering with many Britons leaving not only specific regions but the country. We need to be able to attract more high quality jobs and business into this area. This can be done with the help of local authorities and the Welsh Assembly Government and also existing businesses. We have a great opportunity in Newport, with the opening of the new City Campus, to attract more students who will hopefully then remain in the area after their studies have finished.
A Wales business hub should be based on part of the old Llanwern steelworks site in Newport. There are acres of unused land there close to the border with England which could be used very effectively. The hub could be created at very little cost and would have excellent transport links with a new station built on the South Wales – London main rail line as well as easy connection to the M4 at the Magor interchange via the new road link to Junction 23A.
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