A brand-new, ten-year Growth Strategy published today sets out the exciting opportunities for economic growth in the West that would deliver 72,000 new jobs for the region.
The Mayor of the West of England and council leaders were joined by business leaders and government ministers at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute to together make the case for more investment in our part of the world. A new investment prospectus includes Mass Transit to help get the West moving and the UK’s first AI Supercluster centred on Isambard-AI, the country’s fastest supercomputer, and sets out their scale of ambition, targeting 28% economic growth over next ten years.
Alongside this cutting-edge technology, the Mayor has highlighted the continued importance of our everyday economy, which provides 57% of jobs across the region including in health and education, hospitality and logistics, and keeps the West running. The Growth Strategy also confirms new work to tackle child poverty, deliver more affordable and accessible childcare, and generate another 135 megawatts of clean energy.
As the combined authority works ever closer with our North Somerset neighbours, the Growth Strategy sets out a future bold for business. With a growing population of more than 1.2 million people and a growing economy already worth £53.7 billion, the West has delivered 21% economic growth over the last decade – a major contribution to the British economy and above the national rate. The Growth Strategy sets out an ambition for a new £500 million West of England Land Acquisition Fund to tackle the housing crisis and ensure high-quality development with the infrastructure that local people and businesses need.
The 120-page strategy highlights sectors with the strongest job growth in the West during the last decade. In that time, the everyday economy (+17%), digital and tech (+52%), creative industries (+82%), and clean energy (+140%) here saw the highest job growth of any region in the country – including London. Planning ahead for the next ten years, major growth zones identified include the West Innovation Arc, Central Bristol and Bath, the Severn Estuary, the Somer Valley, and North Somerset Growth Gateway.
click to open in a new windowThis is the West of England, a new video to start to better tell the region’s story , was shown for the first time at the event today alongside exhibitions from companies and organisations from across the West Country. Airbus, Bath Fashion Museum, Boomsatsuma, Step and Stone, and YTL were among those showcasing what they bring to the region.
Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said:
“The future starts here. Every pound invested into the West of England delivers a real return.
“Our new Growth Strategy is about securing investment for our part of the world to make a difference that we can all can see and feel, including new jobs for local people and better transport to cut congestion and boost productivity.
“Growth must not be an intangible economic concept. It is about all of us – it is about our whole region working together for a brighter future in this new chapter for the West.”
Councillor Kevin Guy, Leader of Bath & North East Somerset (B&NES) Council and Deputy Mayor of the West of England, said:
“I warmly welcome this ambitious ten-year growth strategy which seizes on the amazing opportunities we have here in the West of England. I am personally very pleased to see our ambitious plans for Fashion Museum Bath recognised as a lever to secure investment, jobs and to boost the continued growth of the tourism and culture sectors in our region. We also have strategic plans to attract new commercial and employment opportunities within the Bath Riverside Innovation Quarter, and in the Somer Valley, which would see development-ready sites within a Somer Valley Enterprise Zone.”
Councillor Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council said:
“Spanning our entire city from its centre to the suburbs, Bristol’s strengths in creative industries, clean energy, and innovation make us a driving force in the region’s economy – attracting people and investment. By working together across the West, this strategy will help us deliver homes, jobs and opportunities for all our communities.”
Councillor Mike Bell, Leader of North Somerset Council, said:
“This strategy is about delivering real change for North Somerset. More chances for young people to build their careers, better transport for families, affordable homes in thriving neighbourhoods, and cleaner energy for the future. It’s about making sure every community share in the benefits of growth and helps to shape a brighter future for the West of England. It is an ambitious and credible pitch for government support and private sector investment that stakes our claim as the place where communities together make things happen.”
Councillor Maggie Tyrrell, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council, said:
“The new Regional Growth Strategy is an ambitious document, which clearly sets out the opportunities for the region, including for South Gloucestershire. The strategy makes it clear that South Gloucestershire stands out as a nationally significant growth opportunity, with an economy that has consistently outpaced the national average in terms of employment and productivity.
“Crucially, we also welcome that the Strategy says plainly that whilst productivity growth is important, economic growth just for the sake of it would be a missed opportunity. We need to make sure the benefits of prosperity are felt by everyone, through more and better jobs for our residents; new education and skills opportunities; new and better homes in accessible locations; and transport network that meets their needs and those of businesses to travel across the region and connect to the rest of the country and world beyond. The Regional Growth Strategy begins to address these challenges.
“Finally, we welcome the way in which the Strategy was developed collaboratively by our teams, and we look forward to continuing this collaboration as we develop the implementation plans that will help realise our shared ambition.”
Professor Evelyn Welch, Vice-Chancellor and President of the University of Bristol, which hosts the Bristol Digital Futures Institute, said:
“I welcome this ambitious Regional Growth Strategy, particularly its vision for the UK’s first AI Supercluster, centred on Isambard-AI—the nation’s most powerful and sustainable supercomputer. The University of Bristol is proud to collaborate closely with our regional partners as a driving force for growth in digital, tech, creative, and clean energy sectors. Our Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus, at the heart of the regeneration of Temple Quarter, exemplifies our commitment to powering innovation, attracting investment, and serving as a dynamic hub for talent, skills, and partnerships to drive our region’s economic future.”
Robert Campbell, Head of Culture and Heritage at B&NES, said:
“On behalf of Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Fashion Museum Bath, I’m pleased to express our strong support for the West of England Combined Authority’s Local Growth Plan. We welcome its recognition of the transformative role that cultural investment plays in driving regional growth. This plan marks a vital step forward in our region’s economic development and, we believe, will deliver substantial and lasting benefits to our communities.”
Today’s publication follows the Mayor and leaders’ pledge in the last fortnight to embed nature in the Growth Strategy, a move backed by the CEOs of Triodos Bank UK and national charity Wildlife and Countryside Link. As the home of the Western Forest, the UK’s first new national forest in three decades, and so much more, the West’s outstanding natural beauty is recognised as a unique selling point in a competitive national and global economy.
It also comes hot on the heels of new research from the Brunel Centre, showing the strength of economic growth across the region. The academics’ paper studied how productivity in the West of England, which has seen the strongest recent growth of any region in the country (+3%, latest figures: 2023), stacks up against London boroughs.
The Growth Strategy builds too on the recent news that the regional authority has invested in Visit West to support the continued growth of the tourism sector, which contributes around £2.5 billion each year to the West’s economy, employs around 45,000 people, and brings 32 million annual visitors to the region.