BUSINESS DOESN’T STOP AT COUNTY BOUNDARIES

Why do so many small businesses only look local to trade? Thinking bigger boosts business growth and now there are regional support agencies to help

England is defined, geographically at least, by its 48 counties. From Cornwall to Northumberland, each one has its own personality.

But personality isn’t enough to drive economic prosperity in the 21st century –strength in numbers matters more.

Combining Gloucestershire (population around 640,000) with its close neighbour Worcestershire (population around 600,000), doesn’t come close to that of the West Midlands (population around three million), which is still more than Oxfordshire (population 687,000), Berkshire (population 915,000) and Buckinghamshire (population 543,000) together.

So how can these counties compete more fairly?

In recent years, the government has encouraged them to “buddy up” and form regional powerhouses. The benefits for small and medium-sized businesses in these powerhouse regions are big. There are more opportunities to meet and trade with a wider number of companies and a collective voice is louder when bidding to government on important infrastructure projects.

Such group strength will benefit the regions as they compete nationally to secure funding from the government’s much talked about “levelling up” agenda, which it hopes will boost productivity, pay, jobs and living standards by growing the private sector in those places where they are lagging, and spread opportunities in places where they are weakest.

However, the government hasn’t been too specific about which areas should be “levelled up” and perhaps areas such as Oxfordshire, a net contributor to the UK economy, will lose out financially to our more northern counties, even though it has its own areas of deprivation.

Our regional powerhouses

Which are the powerhouses across our region aiming to support their area’s economic growth?

The Midlands Engine was launched in 2017 and spans a geography from the Lincolnshire coast through the West Midlands, Worcestershire to Herefordshire and the Welsh border. It has a combined population of 11 million – greater than Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales put together. It includes 65 local authorities, nine local enterprise partnerships and 20 universities.

The most recent regional powerhouse, the Western Gateway, launched in 2019, uniquely straddles England and Wales, ranging from Swindon through Wiltshire, Somerset, Bath and Bristol, encompassing Gloucestershire and into South Wales, including Newport, Cardiff and Swansea.

Across Oxfordshire and the Thames Valley there is the Oxford-Cambridge Arc. While not a formal organisation, with two of the world’s most renowned universities spinning out hundreds of science and technology companies, the region has become a powerhouse almost by default.

Across the region it’s a complicated landscape with layers of public/private partnerships which all have their own ambitions.

So, why are individual councils and local economic partnerships – usually highly competitive with their neighbours, supporting these regional entities?

According to Ruth Dooley, Chair of Gloucestershire’s Local Enterprise Partnership who is also a board director of the Western Gateway, it’s about shared ambition.

She said: “The Western Gateway represents around 4.4 million people and if all our plans come to fruition, it could add £34 billion gross value added to the UK economy.

“We want to create a green supercluster, host the country’s first fusion plant at Severn Edge and are revisiting plans to harness the tidal energy of the Severn. We are also looking at further development of hydrogen power. Across our region there’s already a lot going on in all those areas, but if we want to make the most of any of them, we have to work together as a region. Not one county, or local enterprise partnership, could achieve this ambition alone.”

Ruth admits that the county she represents is particularly excited about the Western Gateway’s bid for the fusion plant, because Gloucestershire is already home to the former power stations of Oldbury and Berkeley, so there is a significant amount of local expertise on which to draw – and of course there’s Hinkley Point C being built further down the Severn Estuary.

“If our combined bid is successful, the prototype would be built at Oldbury, and nearby Berkeley would be its support with a new science park. The site is already home to a university technical college and the Active Building Centre which is showcasing how building of the future can be constructed more sustainably.”

But the beauty of this joint bid by the Western Gateway is that every area of the regional powerhouse, and its neighbours, could benefit. “If the fusion plant is successful, it would be built with steel from South Wales – also in the Western Gateway region and could use Lithium from nearby Cornwall,” added Ruth.

And just as importantly, the fusion project has widespread community support.

“The region’s MPs, local councils, county councils and local enterprise partnerships are behind the bid, but so are local parish councils who we have also consulted,” added Ruth.

However she – along with all those involved in the Western Gateway, remain cautious about the possibility of success.

Ruth added: “There are five bids still in the running, but we believe that our technical bid is the strongest, and that’s because we are working together across the patch.”

The Midlands Engine

Launched in 2017 and spanning a geography from the Lincolnshire coast through the West Midlands, Worcestershire to Herefordshire and the Welsh border. It has a combined population of 11 million –greater than Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales put together. It includes 65 local authorities, nine local enterprise partnerships and 20 universities.

www.midlandsengine.org

Local Enterprise Partnerships in the region

The Black Country LEP

Coventry & Warwickshire LEP (CWLEP)

Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP

Worcestershire LEP

The Western Gateway

Established in 2019, The Western Gateway uniquely straddles England and Wales, ranging from Swindon through Wiltshire, Somerset, Bath and Bristol, encompassing Gloucestershire and into South Wales, including Newport, Cardiff and Swansea.

www.western-gateway.co.uk

Local Enterprise Partnerships in the region

Gloucestershire LEP (GFirst)

Swindon & Wiltshire LEP

The West of England LEP

NOTE: Local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) are non-statutory bodies responsible for local economic development in England. They are business-led partnerships that bring together the private sector with local authorities, academic and voluntary institutions. LEPs do not exist in Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

All areas of England are covered by a LEP, with 38 in total. LEPs are designed to reflect functional economic areas, taking into consideration things such as local labour markets – where people actually commute from and to. They also need to be large enough to offer sufficient economies of scale. As a result, LEPs cover multiple local authorities, and some local authorities lie within multiple LEPs.

How our region’s support agencies fit together

The region’s three pan-county support agencies have common borders. This map does not cover the entirety of each agency’s geography, but it does reveal how each one links to its neighbour.

The Oxford-Cambridge Arc

While not a formal organisation, it is formed from five counties: Oxfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Cambridgeshire.

It is home to two of the world’s most renowned universities and has become a powerhouse almost by default. It supports more than two million jobs, adds more than £110 billion to the economy every year. It is one of the fastest growing economies in England.

Local Enterprise Partnerships in the region

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough

Combined Authority

Oxfordshire LEP (OxLEP)

South East Midlands LEP (SEMLEP)

Buckinghamshire LEP