20 focus on southampton
Southampton – setting the pace for economic recovery in the region
Southampton’s strengths are well known and it is a hugely pro-active city, with an upbeat feel for 2014 in evidence throughout a wide range of sectors, from corporate finance through to the services sector and dock-related industry. Newly-appointed CEO at Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, Stewart Dunn, who has more than two decades of experience in top management and extensive networking links in Southampton and further afield, spoke to Sue Hughes
Putting Southampton into context amid the wider remit that the Chamber supports, with the Southampton, Portsmouth and North Hampshire branches now combined, Dunn is taking time to get to know the organisation and see how it gels across the board as he settles in.
“Hampshire Chamber of Commerce is now one of the largest business representational groups in the UK, combining the influence, strength and expertise of the county’s three former major Chambers of Commerce into one county Chamber, which is accredited by the national Chamber movement, the British Chambers of Commerce,“ he said.
“The Chamber retains three area offices from where it engages with and offers support services and products to businesses of all sizes
and in all sectors. An example is the Business StartUp programme for SMEs running until March in Southampton with free Chamber membership.
“More recently, Hampshire Chamber led an unprecedented partnering of national business support organisations at the local level. The Hampshire and Island Business Alliance will work to raise awareness of local and national support services for local business and ensure there is ready access to these. The Alliance will allow businesses a chance to influence economic strategy for their area via the Solent LEP.“
Hampshire Chamber is pushing ahead at the forefront of a revolution in business support and Dunn added there will be more about this and the rewards it will bring in 2014.
He continued: “In a similar way, Southampton is setting the pace for an economic recovery in the south. The recent Good Growth Index, produced by PwC and think tank Demos, shows Southampton with the most improvement of any city in the UK between 2012 and 2013, and its success in England is beaten only by Reading/Bracknell. The Index ranked 39 UK cities on GDP and factors key to economic success like jobs, health, income and skills.
“Southampton’s success is underpinned by success stories like that of its port, once more the UK’s number one for car and vehicle exports and already top container terminal in the UK for efficiency and production and the top turnaround cruise port in Europe. The council has been doing well too, gaining the Transport City of the Year award in 2013 for improved transport networks in Southampton city.
“Innovators in Southampton can now benefit from the Science Centre at the Southampton Science Park with its refurbished laboratory premises. Higher education and university research in Southampton is world class and varied enough to attract talented students, but anticipating the skills needs of our employers is essential. We must ensure that local residents are equipped to take up the new higher skilled jobs and apprenticeships that are being created.“
Southampton’s skyline is evidence of the current level of investment in the city and hundreds of new jobs in the pipeline. There is much more to come with the start this year of the Arts Complex and the promise of a cultural revolution in Southampton, followed by the Watermark WestQuay retail and leisure waterfront destination.
The UK’s ’Top Airport’ right here on the doorstep
Southampton Airport has been awarded the title of ’Top UK Airport’ by Wanderlust readers in the 2014 Wanderlust Readers’ Travel Awards.
Voted for by thousands of readers of the national Wanderlust Magazine, the award ceremony took place at the Destinations Show at Earls Court.
Southampton Airport ranked top for UK airports with a satisfaction rating of 87.5%. Final positions were based on an average score for the entry, converted to a percentage, meaning that the award was based on all- important satisfaction levels rather than the number of votes.
Just over an hour from London Waterloo by train, Southampton Airport is perfect for winter skiers, sun seekers, city breakers and business passengers.
Managing director Dave Lees said: “The respected award of Top UK Airport is a great credit to the brilliant team we have working at Southampton Airport, who have a real focus on
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customer service. It is particularly meaningful because the award is based on the impartial opinions of well-travelled people and I’d like to thank passengers who took the time to vote.“
Added Phoebe Smith, Wanderlust’s editor: “With the discerning UK traveller
increasingly preferring a more bijou airport experience, it’s no wonder that readers have voted Southampton as the Top UK Airport. With its good public transport links, great facilities and flights to 33 destinations from Aberdeen to Verona, it’s a worthy winner.“
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – SOLENT & SOUTH CENTRAL – MARCH 2014
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