Creating industrial clusters in every region is the only way to level up, the boss of a UK leading business group has said.
Playing to the strengths in the South West on aerospace, agritech and net carbon zero ambitions will end the 'cookie-cutter' approach and empower the UK economy.
CBI Director-General Tony Danker will today outline his vision for tackling long-term regional inequalities at the organisation’s Urban Revival conference.
In his address, Mr Danker is set to say: "Governments – national or local – can build the infrastructure for urban success. More trains. More broadband. New railway stations. They control the local budgets for buses, parks, healthcare and colleges – the essential foundations upon which communities are forged.
“Yet levelling up is a vital business issue too - for businesses and by businesses. It can be a tide that raises all boats – and all businesses too. So we’re here to do the bit we as business can do; creating thriving firms, bustling high streets, local jobs, better wages.
“Reinforcing successful business clusters will be central to kickstarting this regional revival. This means building on distinctive local strengths to forge a clear USP for investment in towns, cities, regions and nations in all corners of the United Kingdom. Cookie-cutter solutions are no solution at all if levelling up is to be a success."
Mr Danker name checked aerospace in the South West as an area of regional expertise alongside automotive in the West Midlands, the Holyhead Hydrogen Hub in Wales and the 'Golden Triangle' of research and innovation in the South East.
In a new vision for the UK economy, to be published in May, the CBI will call for regions to capitalise on their unique strengths to build back better.
The message echoes the work of the Great South West initiative, highlighted by the #BackTheGreatSouthWest campaign which is supported by the South West's biggest employer Pennon Group with backing from business and LEPs.
Soon to become a test bed for the UK's first electric flight and home to a new fleet of smart underwater robots, the South West is pioneering projects that are pushing its carbon net zero vision to reality.
The Heart of the South West LEP has launched a £1million loan scheme to support environmental businesses and last month, Shadow Chancellor Annelise Dodds supported the Great South West ambitions.
In the Great South West prospectus, ‘Securing Our Future’, published in January 2020, the region set out its ambition to be the greenest economy in England and the first net exporter of green energy through its key wind, solar, geothermal and nuclear assets.
The vision is in line with the CBI strategy of seeing every region being supported to develop their top industries so that they can become globally competitive which will in turn boost productivity and create jobs.
Further CBI goals for UK-wide levelling up include:
- Utilising anchor institutions – from universities to keystone businesses – at the heart of regional economies to help attract investment and spur related sector growth.
- Building a rich sector mix, including high-value export offerings to bring money to the region, and future industries like renewable energy with strong growth opportunity.
- Business leadership within communities, with firms reinvesting profits into people, delivering training and skills, improving facilities and working towards net-zero.
Mr Danker said: “There is no greater force for positive, lasting change than business. Our job now is to turn warm words into a national movement, an urban revival revolution.
“Any levelling-up agenda without jobs, without industrial clusters, without business sector regeneration, is not levelling-up at all. Rebalancing the UK economy can’t be done by government alone.
What does the South West need to compete in the levelling-up agenda? Have your say in the comments section below
