VISION WEST
Targets for the future
For more than 20 years, the Initiative has provided the business community with a unique opportunity to influence the environment in which it
operates.The start of a new year is the perfect time to review progress and plan ahead.
After wide and regular consultations with both Initiative and Chamber members across the West of England, six key policy themes have emerged, which will provide the basis for most of the representational and lobbying activity that is carried out on behalf of business. They are relevant to the entire sub- region, but the detail within them will vary from area to area, aspects which will be picked up by local teams.
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Those themes were recently set out in High on Hope, the book which provided a real vision for the next forty years. The book raised some enormous issues, such as how 200,000 new homes could be created by 2050 in order to accommodate the people filling the additional 300,000 new jobs. It looked at how local government could be delivered differently and made the case for elected mayors. And it made some imaginative suggestions about how better use could be made of some of our natural assets, such as creating a barrage at the mouth of the Avon barrage to produce a fantastic river resource which could turn to the estuary into a prime outdoor education and bird watching centre.
1. Economy and Business growth
The single issue which underpins all Business West activities is work aimed at helping the economy to grow. The reason for that is not some slavish pursuit of profit, but rather to establish sustainable businesses offering the jobs which provide incomes that allow the whole community to enjoy the benefits of prosperity in an attractive environment. One of the key ways Business West can help generate economic growth is to gather views from Initiative and Chamber members and then to act accordingly. In our recent survey, more than half of all responders identified access to finance and too much regulation as major barriers to growth. We have taken positive steps to address those concerns, helping to deliver a Better Business Finance Event, which saw the banking community meet with the local business community to address the issue of
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ne of the great strengths of Business West is its ability to respond positively to the challenges facing business which vary over time.
access to finance. The result was that both sides agreed that business needed more clarity from banks on what they were looking for in when it came to lending propositions. For instance, interest rates and level of security, so businesses might be better prepared and realistic in their expectations.
“Six key policy themes have emerged,which will provide the basis of lobbying activity”
During 2012 we will continue to prioritise the need to promote improvements in access to finance and export opportunities for SMEs as well as giving enthusiastic support for the Government’s red tape challenge and its stated ambitions to reduce the bureaucracy which bears down on business.
2.Transport and Connectivity
Whenever business people are gathered together it is not long before the vexed question of what can be done to improve transport systems and reduce congestion comes up. This is not just about roads and rail but also about the provision of superfast broadband which will be a necessity if businesses are to remain competitive in a global market.
There is a long way to go, but some progress was made in 2011. We saw confirmation of electrification on the Great Western Mainline and significant
Business West Update JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2012
government investment across Wiltshire through the Government’s project to deliver superfast broadband. In conjunction with the Local Enterprise Partnership, Business West was also a strong supporter of the five West of England major scheme transport bids, which together offer the potential to revitalise the economy of the area. We need to keep up pressure for Local Enterprise Partnerships to take responsibility for strategic transport matters and to work with others in the development of the new tender for the new Great Western franchise. There are specific cases to be made in each of the Business West areas. For instance in Gloucestershire, there is concern that adequate access to the M5 at Junction 10 is retained throughout the duration of upcoming bridge replacement works. In Swindon, there is a focus on promoting the development of a new Swindon West railway station, while Bath has a pressing need to decrease congestion and improve air quality. And there is a broad requirement to ensure that effective linkages are made between Bristol Airport and all parts of the sub-region.
3. Planning and Development
If we are successful in helping businesses find necessary finance and we benefit from an improved infrastructure, it is inevitable that more companies will be attracted to the area and they will need more people to work for them. That would be a desirable outcome, but only as long as that demand for accommodation for those businesses and for their staff can be satisfied.
Where should those buildings go? How easy can the system be made to allow construction to take place? Chamber and Initiative members have been keen to stress the importance of balance, so that even though the last system could be accused of being overly bureaucratic and needing streamlining, it should not be scrapped wholesale. There are risks associated with a lack of regional policy and long-term regional housing allocations. The primary focus in the Business West priorities is on the National Planning Policy Framework and the Localism Act. There will be strong support for planning reforms which take a positive approach to economic growth, encouragement for the LEP to take
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