Today, the Western Morning News has reignited its campaign to secure much needed Government funding for the South West.
For three years the paper has been spearheading the along with partners Pennon to fight for investment.
At the end of 2019, with the campaign having culminated in recognition from the Prime Minister and his business advisers who invited a delegation to Downing Street, the campaign is moving forward with one clear voice to garner investment and recognition.
Back the South West has undergone a rebrand to unite as one voice with key leaders in the region and step up the fight to get what the area needs.
Reach’s South West sites Plymouth Live, Devon Live and Cornwall Live and national site Business Live are also adopting the campaign for 2020, strengthening the new Back the Great South West message.
Key businesses, MP Gary Streeter, the Heart of the South West LEP (HotSW LEP) and the Western Morning News have been working hard to make a case for the South West and why it deserves Government spending which has been lacking due to decades of underinvestment by successive governments.
Because of this, our region is a long way from realising its full potential and enabling the 海角视频 economy to fire on all cylinders.
Now, goals have aligned to focus on key areas to drive that success, and that is why we have given the campaign a fresh new look and a new name – Back the Great South West.
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Along with partners Pennon, LiveWest and with support from the HotSW LEP, the campaign aims to speak with a clear, collective voice to ensure the South West becomes a priority for the Government.
Launched in the wake of the Brexit referendum, the campaign was born to ensure our region continued to be supported and recognised, highlighting its unprecedented opportunities in science, advanced engineering and digital innovation in the area.
Bill Martin, Editor-in-Chief of the Western Morning News, said: “It was very clear at the meeting with the Prime Minister before Christmas that the Government and its business advisers are supportive of our region and its ambitions.
“The Prime Minister stated his intent to level up the economy across Britain and this needs to be reflected in the support for the Great South West and its aspirations.”
In a monumental breakthrough, the paper was invited up to Number 10 to discuss the Great South West movement along with a delegation of businesses from the region in October.
The letter which was sent to the Government on behalf of the campaign highlighted the digital innovation in the area, and touched on sectors the South West has renowned expertise in – including marine sciences and engineering.
It added that the South West has huge potential to be the 海角视频’s world leader in clean growth backed by renewable energy assets that are the envy of many nations, but to be the smart, connected, green powerhouse, we need the Government’s help.
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Tackling issues on connectivity, both digitally and within our road and rail infrastructure are just some of the factors detailed in the campaign which stretches across agriculture, export, tourism, jobs and more.
Sir Gary Streeter, who has been a key voice for the South West and the campaign, said: “2020 must be the year that the Great South West campaign reaches its full potential by clearly defining our region, both in the eyes of government and ourselves, speaking with a clear single voice as to our priorities and obtaining traction with government for the investment we need.
“The new focus on the North is both a threat and an opportunity. A threat if we allow investment to drift away from us and go northwards but a massive opportunity if government starts to think in a less London-centric way and starts thinking regionally. As a region we must be ready.”
LiveWest, the largest housing association in the South West, has also come on board with the Back the Great South West Campaign.
With ambitious plans to invest £2bn in the region over the next 10 years, LiveWest’s investment will sustain around 7,000 jobs in the building and supply chain – and it’s set to build 7,000 homes across the South West over the next five years.
LiveWest said it is looking forward to working closely with the Government to meet the desperate need for affordable homes in the South West.
“The South West is undoubtedly a beautiful place to live and work, but for many people, housing remains their most pressing challenge,” LiveWest’s deputy chief executive Melvyn Garrett said.
“With the average home in the South West costing more than 10 times the average salary, there is pressure on people to access housing at an affordable price.
“We clearly recognise there is significant demand and the challenge is how to translate our offer into meeting that demand.
“The homes that LiveWest build help people in the South West achieve great places to live, and help businesses invest in a region where their employees can afford to bring up their families.
“We know there aren’t enough contractors available to build the homes we desperately need so skills, apprenticeships, new ways of building, modern methods of construction are issues that are vital to address at the highest level.
“We will work closely with the government to resolve the housing challenge; this is key to the long-term social and economic success of the region.”
Alongside the Western Morning News’ campaign, The Great South West partners have also published a local growth prospectus that aims to deliver £45 billion of economic benefit and 190,000 new jobs over the next 15 years.
The partnership is made up of a powerful coalition of South West businesses, education leaders and local authorities which have pledged to work in partnership with Government to make the Great South West the latest growth alliance to rebalance the 海角视频 economy.
At the heart of a new Great South West prospectus - which will be formally submitted to Government shortly - is the ambition to make the Great South West the cleanest economy in England and the first to be net zero carbon.
Steve Hindley, Chair of the Great South West partnership, said: “Our aspiration is for the Government to recognise the enormous potential of the Great South West to model how the future economy will look, and to work with us to plan and deliver the changes that we need to launch an era of transformational change and become the greenest economy of the 海角视频.”
Pennon helped launch the Back The South West campaign at its inception with the Western Morning News, CBI, LEPs, MPs, and other businesses along with local and academic leaders shortly after the referendum.
Susan Davy, Pennon’s Chief Financial Officer and Chair of CBI South West said:“Prior to the election, it was encouraging that Boris Johnson gave his personal commitment to the campaign, recognising the Great South West as having enormous economic potential and a unique regional brand identity.
"It is now vital that our region’s business community maintains that dialogue with central Government, speaking with a joined-up voice alongside our LEPs and MPs, and ensuring the Government delivers on its promises in areas such as transport and digital infrastructure.
"Across the country, other regions will also be setting out their stalls - the onus is on us to be loud and proud in our calls for recognition and investment. We support the Back the Great South West campaign as a vehicle to do just that.”
After the successful campaign meeting with Boris Johnson and his chief business adviser, Andrew Griffith, the delegation was urged to ‘aim high’ and to keep the flow of information between Government and the region continuous.
With a fresh, joined up approach, the Back the Great South West campaign will push to secure a prosperous future for the Great South West.