News / Economic Growth
Proposal to create single ‘powerhouse’ for South West
A consortium has called for a single “powerhouse” for the South West as part of a vision to level up the four super regions of England.
The One Powerhouse Consortium, funded by a charity set up by Bristol-born industrialist Sir Hugh Sykes, together with the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), has produced a draft spatial blueprint for each of the regions in the North, the Midlands, the South East and the South West.
Launched on Thursday, January 14, the plan for the South West says the region has been held back by under-investment and “fragmented” planning and needs an overarching body to take a strategic approach to unlock its potential.
That organisation would work with existing organisations, which include six Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), as well as universities and businesses to produce a single spatial plan for the region.
It would be responsible for establishing the strategic priorities and targets for housing, infrastructure, the economy, the environment, health, and social wellbeing.
There are six local enterprise partnerships in the South West – map source: One Powerhouse South West Spatial Blueprint
“This would enable the region to have ‘one voice’, giving it more presence nationally, setting out its priorities clearly in one place and giving it more influence to attract investment into the region,” the draft plan says.
“Our region has been held back by under-investment and a lack of coordination.
“Yet it has enviable economic, social and environmental assets that, properly harnessed, can address inequalities.”
The plan suggests 12 “interventions”, including infrastructure-led housing and employment development in towns with “hidden strategic potential” such as Weston-super-Mare, Cheltenham, Gloucester, Plymouth, Tiverton and Taunton.
Bristol’s Temple Quarter, the Bristol Port, the Avonmouth-Severnside Enterprise Area, and Filton Enterprise Area are all named as “key investment sites”.
The Temple Quarter site is one are of the areas named as “key investment sites” – image courtesy of Bristol University
The One Powerhouse Consortium is supported by The Sir Hugh and Lady Ruby Sykes Charitable Trust.
It says its draft spatial plans will be “vital” in guiding government and local authority planning.
The Local Democracy Reporting service has approached WECA for comment.
Amanda Cameron is a local democracy reporter for Bristol
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