The South West faces huge challenges, including from the coronavirus pandemic, but is in a good position to emerge stronger and even become the UK’s economic powerhouse, a major conference has heard.
Business leaders from across Devon and Cornwall linked in to the virtual launch of the Western Morning News’ Annual Business Guide and agreed that the region’s leading role in growth digital and renewable industries gives it a strong chance of becoming a successful economic centre in the 21 st Century.
And its attractive environment is already proving to be a major draw for businesses, and entrepreneurs, looking to relocate away from Britain’s biggest cities.
But attendees also heard how the region will need further investment, including in the latest broadband technology, and a mass retraining programme for workers whose jobs are threatened by the Covid-19 crisis.
However, a panel of experts, and an audience of leading movers and shakers, were upbeat with a mood best summed up by chairman Bill Martin, marketplace publisher for Reach Plc in the South, when he said the outlook was “positive and uplifting”.
Mr Martin, opening the event to mark the online and print publication of the comprehensive 48-page guide to the region’s economy, said the discussion would focus on “the challenges facing the region, and opportunities” and said: “We want to focus on resilience and transformation and what the West needs to do to get out of this and emerge stronger.”
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And the answer was to continue doing what the region has been doing so well – but on a larger scale.
The growing digital and “green” sectors were constantly highlighted, with specific mention of agri-, health- and marine-tech, lithium mining, geothermal energy, floating offshore wind farms, and other renewable industries.
Kim Conchie, chief executive of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce, was one of five panel members and stressed the current crisis could turn out to be a “catalyst” for growth in such areas.
“There are massive opportunities,” he said. “We are going forward, taking this moment to look ahead. It’s a very exciting time.”
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But he stressed the need to re-skill and re-train workers in companies and sectors, such as hospitality, that are vulnerable to closure or shrinkage.
Michael Maltby, chief executive and founder of Jurassic Fibre, said digital industries were key with the South West being the only area of the UK with potential to become the country’s “silicon valley”, with digital infrastructure underpinning a potential “wave of inward movement of people and investment”.
He said: “That will shift the economic power in the UK making the South West the best place to live and work – possibly in Europe.”
He said the region could be transformed over the next five to 10 years with “the opportunity for the high-paid jobs we desperately need”.
Fellow panellist Connie Dixon, South West region director for Openreach, agreed improved digital infrastructure was key to future economic prosperity and said: “The way out of recession and into economic recovery is through digital infrastructure. The potentially economic boost of the South West being fully fibred could be £4.3billion with more than 42,000 jobs created.”
The company has announced a £12billion investment to bring Full Fibre to 20million homes and businesses by the mid-late 2020s, but called for “the whole industry to step up and play its part if we’re to reach the UK’s ambition of gigabit-capable coverage by 2025.”
Andrew Killick, partner and head of corporate finance at ABG partner PKF Francis Clark, used his position on the panel to highlight the “horrific experience” those who have lost their jobs have gone through and stressed that “some businesses will not survive”, but said all hope was not lost, and investment was flowing into the renewable energy sector at pace.
He said there was a “fantastic opportunity” for the region to emerge as a “greener, more efficient and effective economy, with a better balance between work and life”.
Jacqui Merrington, audience and content director at Reach Plc in the region, explained the changes happening in the media but vowed that the company, publisher of the Western Morning News and Business Live among other digital and print titles, would continue to “shout about the South West, support local business, and keep changing and adapting to be alive to our audiences’ needs”.
