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Home , Regions of England, South West England, Swindon, West of England

Our Connectivity Our People and Places

Airports in the South Core Settlements West

Major Settlements South West Regional Ports Association (ports and members) Other Settlements

Rural Hubs Main Train Stations in the South West Urban Areas Highways - RIS1 Junction Schemes Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty

Highways England - RIS1 Major Schemes National Parks

Transport Development Sources: Consent Orders Office of National Statistics 2011 and mid-2017 estimates Barton Willmore national constraints map 2019 Sources: https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate. gov.uk/projects/ http://www.gis.co.uk/latest/ Greater Connected, Transforming Strategic Connectivity in . ‘An opportunity for local and national government and business leaders to work together to significantly accelerate economic growth’ https://swrpa.org.uk/ https://travelwest.info/projects/metrowest/ metrowest-phase-1 https://www.southwesternrailway.com/ https://www.bristolairport.co.uk/about-us/ who-we-are/our-future https://www.exeter-airport.co.uk/about-us/

One Powerhouse Towards a Spatial Blueprint South West

A vision for Britain. Planned.

Power Stations Research, Professional, Creative Design

Wind Development Advanced with a capacity of more than 15MW

Transport Logistics Solar Development with a capacity of more than 15MW Energy

Hydro Power Visitor Economy

Battery Storage with a Traditional Industries capacity of more than 20MW Universities / Further Education Energy Development

Consent Orders Sources: https://www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk/lep/

Sources: SD15B Economic Development Needs Assessment (EDNA) https://infrastructure.planninginspectorate.g West of England Partnership (2016) ov.uk/projects/ https://swlep.co.uk/ http://www.mygridgb.co.uk/map/ and Strategic Economic https://theenergyst.com/net-zero-bristols-5 Plan (2016) -billion-decarbonisation-plan/ https://www.cioslep.com/vision/vision-2030 https://www.westernpower.co.uk/ 10 Opportunities Towards a Local Industrial Department for Business Energy and Strategy – and Local Industrial Strategy Enterprise Partnership (2018) https://www.somersetenergyinnovationcentr Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Employment and e.co.uk/ Skills Strategy 2016-2030 Nuclear South West Strategy 2017 - Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated https://heartofswlep.co.uk/wp-content/uplo Territorial Investment Strategy (2016) ads/2017/05/NSW-Govt-Strategy-Green-Pap er-Response-FINAL-.pdf https://dorsetlep.co.uk/ Horizon 2038: A Vision for Growth (2018) https://www.gfirstlep.com/about-us/our-vis ion/strategic-economic-plan/ Strategic Economic Plan for 2.0 (2018) https://heartofswlep.co.uk/

Our Environment and Energy Our Economy 20 A Vision for Britain. Planned. Challenges SW context 20 The One Powerhouse Consortium, supported by The Sir Hugh and Lady Ruby Challenge 1 - Connectivity and Challenge 5 – Social Inequality and . However, the spatial areas The ’s economy is worth approximately £127 billion (House of Commons Congestion in the Region: The region Isolated Communities: The location of between the core settlements are Sykes Charitable Trust, believes that a substantial part of the problem of is strong and vibrant, attracting start the core cities and major settlements rural and less prosperous, with ageing 2018). It is home to clusters of world leading sectors ranging from aerospace to regional inequality in the UK can be solved not just by money, but by the up and inward investors from across populations and poor retention of a digital and creative. There are several prosperous areas within the region with the world and comprises rural areas of the south coast and . The One Powerhouse transformative potential of spatial planning. some, such as Gloucestershire, showing an above average growth in productivity and coastal towns and cities, many of region has a ranging population and create disparity of place in the region which are popular tourist destinations. placement of core economic areas, with which is a challenge that needs Connecting a diverse and dispersed the GDP per capita varying from below addressing. With population clusters Towards a spatial blueprint economy and population within and average in Cornwall to above average dispersed across the region, as well Spatial planning is the ‘where’ of decisions. It looks at a The value of place and scale beyond the region remains a key in Gloucestershire and Wiltshire. as poor public transport connectivity, challenge. The region has the lowest The more prosperous attract it is harder for goods, people, and The region has a high concentration of There are opportunities to tackle the Climate change is the issue of our everything contained in that area – towns, cities, housing, There is evidence that spatial planning has already begun regional infrastructure spending per a skilled workforce, with businesses knowledge to move around easily. demographic and spatial disparity in time, and the complexity of climate South West to deliver results in the UK. We are not alone in recognising head in the country. in the northern part of the region Infrastructure investment has a notable clusters in Gloucestershire the region through providing a greater change means that it touches upon all hospitals, energy sources, museums, parks and leisure that the two ‘regional economies’ that have the highest and . Aerospace and advanced mix of housing in areas with aging other themes and interventions in this activities - and makes a plan to develop those assets for the levels of productivity are those where there are coherent pressures of the South East and West this challenge. manufacturing are integral report, from reducing the emissions regional economic plans: and . components of the South West cluster family housing. This will of course associated with travel, to adapting Homes. future. and key to delivery of the UK Aerospace need to be linked to employment to changes in sea levels, to reversing Resident Population in Employment Indeed, in England, there is good work taking place through industrial strategy. opportunities. harmful trends in biodiversity, to the needs of all, and located in the aged 16-64 NVQ4+ some Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Combined innovating in the development of Regional inequality in the UK right places. The South West is ideally located for Unless there is a change in policy Authorities and Mayoralties but not all. In strategic planning Forest Cotswold energy generation. The South West 31.0 - 36.0 of Dean research and energy development. direction economic inequalities and investment terms, these tend to be rather small and the Challenge 3 – The Skills Gap in has both leadership on and remains Today, just under half of the UK population live in regions 36.1 - 41.0 It also has a strong manufacturing will grow, and the South West will outcome is rather patchwork. the Region & Retention of Skills/ vulnerable to, and therefore forms a with a comparable productivity to the poorer parts of South 41.1 - 46.0 City of Gloucestershire Swindon base in marine, food and drink, and experience increased problems of Attracting Talent. Despite recent Bristol focal point for all other interventions. former East Germany – and comparable living standards growth and its economic specialisms, engineering. The visitor economy 46.1 - 51.0 North Bath & are worse. According to the recent UK2070 Commission, Our Plan North East sector plays an important economic existing infrastructure. House prices the South West’s economy makes up Somerset Wiltshire the UK today is more intraregionally unequal than Germany 7.3% of the UK’s total GVA. This is one 51.1 - 56.7 and rents are high, yet house building Mendip The clear ‘gap’ in terms of economic planning in the UK, of the lowest of England’s regions, and Source: ONS, Annual Somerset West source of employment. is low indicating that the regional itself together, through decisive investment programmes therefore, is at the level of the English regions. Any spatial is due to several reasons including lack Population Survey, 2018 housing crisis will worsen. Deane South underpinned by visionary spatial planning. During a similar strategy needs to bring together the best local industrial of productivity and skills gap, high Somerset There are also opportunities to direct Torridge period the UK, on the other hand, has fragmented. strategies and plans within a wider regional strategy house prices and a low wage economy, some housing growth to more isolated Dorset framework. The foundations of how this can be achieved are poor transport and infrastructure, gaps parts of the region and stimulating The nature and extent of the so-called ‘North-South’ divide already present. The are already coming in high speed broadband coverage and economic activity in the west of the Isles of Scilly can be presented in many forms. Maps showing economic together: The Northern Powerhouse, The Midlands Engine, peninsula, realising the potential of

Cornwall productivity, educational attainment and poor health all , The Great South West and The Wider South East all exist as in retaining and attracting talented Christchurch & present sharp disparities between regions and nations. functional identities. people and a high proportion of Towns (SSCTs) in the centre and north Current forecasts suggest the situation will only get worse retired people. of the region, and allowing carefully and that in fact the economy of London and the South East Our ambition has been to prepare a series of draft spatial managed growth the occur in the south Challenge 4 – Climate Change and is ‘decoupling’ from the rest of the UK (McCann 2016). The blueprints that will better enable decision-making and east of the region. repercussions are stark and grow more evident all the time. prioritisation of investment across the country and thus Achieving Zero Carbon: A constraint help the UK as a whole develop over the long term – creating for the region is the rapid growth in Spatially-sensitive policy is not simply a matter of social construction of distributed renewable opportunity for all, jobs for all and prosperity for all. Claimants as a proportion of Cheltenham energy developments, including solar justice and political prudence. Regional prosperity drives Tewkesbury residents aged 16-64 Gloucester national prosperity and so regional imbalance constrains ‘an early plan or design farms which has led to a large strain on South West the grid network. The combination of Forest Cotswold Enterprise Zones overall performance. Accommodating agglomeration in that explains how something might be achieved’ ( 0.7 - 1.1 of Dean this and the evergrowing expectation of Stroud some places while servicing mounting welfare bills in dictionary). While based on thorough analysis and 1.2 - 1.5 producing low carbon development to South Swindon 1.6 - 1.9 City of Gloucestershire achieve the legally binding government Bristol underlying problem. product but they point to what could be achieved with better target, presents a challenge for the resourcing, co-ordination and support. 2.0 - 2.4 North Bath & Somerset North East Somerset Wiltshire challenges over the next 50 years with 2.5 - 2.8 The technical work has been led by planning consultancies Mendip Sedgemoor linked to the regions: Atkins in the North, Barton Willmore the ability of the network to provide 2.9 - 3.2 Somerset West North Devon

in the Midlands and the South West and Aecom in the South Source: ONS claimant develops and the population grows. count data, July 2019 East. The One Powerhouse Consortium has also worked Torridge In However, there are opportunities Mid Devon hand-in-hand with the UK2070 Commission and drawn Dorset for wider use of natural resources; East Devon upon the support of the well-respected think tank the RSA. developing energy infrastructure; and West Devon Isles of Scilly Teignbridge Exeter marine sector growth. These underpin Cornwall Bournemouth, the ability of the region to contribute Christchurch & Poole Torbay to its own and the UK’s Net Zero South Hams carbon requirements. Plymouth

BACK COVER

The SW demography Institutions Priorities

The population of the South West is over 5.5 million (ONS) - 8% of the UK’s population. The current approach to spatial planning in the region is fragmented and there are Our Connectivity Our Economy

1. Prepare a digital infrastructure upgrade plan for 4. Prioritise infrastructure-led housing and The core settlements (with a population of over 180,000), the whole South West region to enable the region employment development in towns with hidden comprising approximately 1 million of the region’s to compete internationally. strategic potential, for example Weston Super population, in order of size in the region are: South West from London. Mare, Cheltenham-Gloucester, Plymouth, Tiverton Following the revocation of the South In addition, there is the ‘The Great alongside the existing structures but 2. Host an annual digital infrastructure summit, and Taunton. 1. Bristol; • The region’s population is set to grow. Together with West Regional Spatial Strategy in 2010, South West’, as established by the with a more strategic approach. It focused on transformative social and economic the absence of a region-wide strategic South West, Cornwall and Isles of would work with the existing LEPs, the change for vulnerable localities and high growth 5. Establish a diverse ‘places of learning network’ 2. Plymouth; problems across the region, this will increase demand for planning policy mechanism for the Scilly, and Dorset Local Enterprise universities, and business communities sectors. involving colleges and universities in towns and 3. Bournemouth; and housing. region is a barrier to enabling good Partnerships in 2018. It is a campaign to enable a cross-boundary, strategic cities of all sizes throughout the South West. spatial planning in the region. to highlight the South West’s approach. The body would be 3. Plan for strategic infrastructure connections • The region has a ranging population and placement of 4. Swindon. economic potential and make the responsible for establishing the beyond the region, to Newport, , 6. Create a public value business plan to underpin core economic areas, with the GDP per capita varying In terms of working up a regional case for Government investment on strategic priorities for infrastructure, and . inward and government investment in Key demographic trends are: from below average in the south of the region to above Address Tel plan, the following areas already have a par with other UK regions and been the economy, the environment, health, infrastructure and skills, channelled across urban Barton Willmore sub-regional working arrangements in launched at . From our and social wellbeing. Initially, this 0117 929 9677 • The region has the oldest median age in the UK (2011 and rural localities in the South West. create disparity of place in the region which is a place for strategic plan-making: engagement with the LEPs, it is our could be presented in a business plan 101 Victoria Street, census) with having the oldest median age challenge. understanding that discussions are for the region, setting out key priorities Bristol Email of 48. • West of England Combined ongoing about the Great South West to 2070. This would enable the region BS1 6PU [email protected] • With population clusters dispersed across the region, as Authority; • The South West has more people moving in than out, well as poor public transport connectivity, it is harder for joining up with the Western Gateway. to have ‘one voice’, giving it more Our People & Places Our Environment • Cornwall – Local This proposed change to regional presence nationally, setting out its goods, people, and knowledge to move around easily. Plan; priorities clearly in one place and giving Contacts • Wiltshire – Swindon and Wiltshire in the region and has resulted in some 7. Promote the public value business plans under 10. Establish a collaborative network that supports Joint Plan; regional stakeholders being reluctant into the region. The overarching aim of ‘One Voice for the South West’. intelligent long-term investment in natural to engage with our research until they the body and the business plan would , to achieve local and sub-regional Simon Prescott Faith Beeson-Wright South West LEP Areas Senior Partner Planning Associate • Dorset – emerging Plan for the know the outcome of this. be to address regional inequality and 8. Create cross-boundary, ‘zonal’ evidence bases for, biodiversity and environmental net-gain unitary authorities; 0117 929 9677 0117 929 9677 mirror similar existing arrangements in broad terms, the Peninsula, West of England, including regional forests, e.g. Forest of ; In order to drive forward a regional in other mega regions such as the Gloucestershire/ and Wiltshire/Dorset 1. West of England LEP • Plymouth and South West Devon; plan for the South West region the NP11 Northern network of LEPs, or the sub-regions. 11. D evelop a South West Coastal Strategy, that • Greater Exeter Strategic Plan; and 2. Swindon and Wiltshire LEP creation of a strategic organisation/ Midlands Engine. strategically blends natural, heritage, recreational, body is required. This would work 9. Align zonal evidence bases with planning 3. Cornwall and Isle of Scilly LEP • Joint Core Strategy for Gloucester, maritime, sustainable energy and tourist assets to Cheltenham, Tewkesbury frameworks that match quality of place and enable diverse coastal communities to maximise 4. Dorset LEP South West design to the quality of the South West’s their assets and opportunities. 5. Heart of the South West LEP 6 In Somerset, Somerset West and Government landscape, cultural and heritage assets. Chambers Institutional Agencies e.g. Homes Taunton are preparing a joint local of Commerce England, DfT, DEFRA, 6. GFirst LEP 12. Develop a complementary carbon strategy to Framework and Business Department for plan, and looking further to the future Health and become a net-exporter of zero-carbon energy, Social Care the leaders of the Somerset councils combining energy assets and opportunities Sources: ( Council, Sedgemoor Regional And Local Economic Growth including coastal, nuclear and on-shore District Council, Somerset County Statistics, House of Commons, Dorset developments. 1 Energy e.g. September 2018 Council, Somerset West and Taunton National Grid, The Great Health e.g. NHS https://www.lepnetwork.net/lep- Council, and South Somerset District Energy Swindon and Western activities/local-industrial-strategies/ Companies Wiltshire 2 Council) are considering options for Powerhouse Birmingham https://www.rtpi.org.uk/ joint-working and potential local media/2934389/south_west_ government reorganisation. West Tom Carpen Thomas Edmunds A new ‘Western Gateway’ has been Local Cornwall, South West LEPs Infrastructure & Energy Associate Infrastructure & Energy Planner launched which adopts a new regional Authorities Isles of Scilly 0117 929 9677 02920 660910 5 geography, going from the West of England to Wales, linking a number of towns and cities either side of the 4 Cambridge/ Heart of Academic e.g. Oxford Severn. The area has three established G First the South universities and (Gloucestershire) city regions, as well as plans for a West colleges North Devon

new city region, but no overarching West of powerhouse A report, commissioned England 3 Southampton City Councils, is a response to that challenge and the conclusion is that Bournemouth West of the Great Western cross border area England and is a powerhouse waiting to happen. Environmental Mayor e.g. The Environment Transport The ‘Western Gateway’ has been Agency, Natural e.g. , England, Wildlife Network Rail, British awarded £400,000 from Government Trust, Heritage Ports Association to progress the initiative. England