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There’s more to Somerset than cider and the Glastonbury festival. Christian Annesley finds the county has multiple personalities and big ambitions.

Look at a map of the South West and your eye could easily pass over Somerset. It’s not the biggest county in the region and it can’t boast a city the size of its neighbour Bristol to the north, or Plymouth to the south.

One of Somerset’s assets is Bath, an architectural jewel of international standing. But even Bath’s story is sometimes subsumed into that of the wider Bristol-Bath city region. It tends to stand apart from the rest of the county in some respects – a situation that partly reflects Somerset’s local government being divided between two unitary authorities and a county council, each with their respective agendas.

But Somerset is strategically significant to the South West and has a big role to play.

The region’s main motorway, the M5, runs straight through the middle of the county, and once you add in Taunton’s speedy rail links it is easy to see that its connectedness is a strength. In the south, a campaign is under way, backed by the public and private sector, to raise its profile as a business location.

Connectivity is again the key message. Road, rail and air connections are all strong – there is Bristol airport to the north and Exeter airport if you head south – and so is another form of connectivity, broadband internet.

Rupert Cox, chief executive of the Somerset Chamber of Commerce, says the area has always attracted entrepreneurial business leaders, but says now’s the time to shout about what’s on offer.

“Certain sectors are strong, including advanced engineering, food and drink, creatives and environmental technologies.

So there is plenty to build on. “Reaching out to the next generation of newcomers should help maintain the county’s entrepreneurial buzz and attract inward investment.”

Cox is working with Into Somerset, a body set up to attract businesses into the area, and the marketing literature paints a picture of a place where entrepreneurs can grow their companies and enjoy a good lifestyle.

“Into Somerset also acts as a hub to guide businesses through the process of getting established,” says Cox. “A public-private initiative like this gives businesses closer ties with local authorities, and can help them access crucial information. It also makes it easier to tap into the area’s business networks.

“That’s all the more important in an area where there is no stand-out business centre: Taunton is important, but so are Yeovil and Bridgwater.”

“In many ways it is a crossroads economy, and businesses are quite dispersed. There are lots of small and medium-sized enterprises, and the county is quite rural,” says Thompson.

“All that makes it a complex economy for the RDA to support, and it’s a question of being clear about our strategic priorities to ensure we get the best from our available resources.”

Taunton remains a priority for the RDA, and it continues to support Project Taunton seven years after the town was first identified as one of a handful of areas for growth in the South West.

The scheme is a £1bn regeneration programme across 50 hectares of “under-utilised land” in three locations. The first area being developed is Firepool, on a 6.7 hectare site next to the mainline railway and fronting the River Tone. Flood risks, which have held back the town’s development, are being addressed with a £2m flood defence scheme funded by the RDA. Thompson says the investment is an example of how the public sector continues to invest and keep up momentum during a downturn.

That public-sector role is amplified because most of the land earmarked for development is owned by the local authority, meaning that, for now, the notion of completing every part of Taunton’s makeover in ten years remains on track.

Thompson says: “Taunton is important for Somerset because it has been identified as a key population growth point by the government. What’s important is to get the right balance of jobs and residential housing long term.”

Andy Olie, the Institute of Directors’ chair in Somerset, says there is still wariness about Taunton’s prospects for managing that expansion.

“There is a lot of housing allocation around the town,” he says. “Will the infrastructure be up to it? Movement of traffic around Taunton is a big issue and needs to improve for the town to work for business and residents.”

One scheme demonstrating what Taunton can offer to businesses is Blackbrook Business Park, off junction 25 of the M5. Blackbrook has grown quickly and has just one plot remaining to be built.

James Gregory of Alder King says: “For businesses seeking a West Country presence, this halfway point between Bristol and Exeter offers the opportunity to move into quality premises that cost £17 per sq ft, rather than Bristol’s £27 per sq ft price-tag. It is standing up well in the current climate.”

Bath, Somerset’s other big player, is also aiming at long-term transformation. But in this case it’s not expansion so much as reinvention that’s on the cards.

John Betty, strategic director of development and regeneration for Bath and North East Somerset Council, says it’s a delicate play because there is little commercial capacity right now and bringing sites forward takes time for a UNESCO World Heritage centre.

“Nobody wants to deconstruct the city, but the idea is to make Bath’s existing assets work for businesses. Sectors such as the creatives industry or alternative lifestyle companies are particularly welcome.”

Betty says what Bath has to fill in over the years ahead is the economic hole the city is struggling with, as its population has too few 28 to 45 year-olds that should be its lifeblood.

“We have lots of students coming out of the city’s two universities but not enough are staying on because of a relative lack of opportunities,” he says. “With space at a premium, the only way expansion is possible is if the city can create more high-value jobs to replace some lower-value jobs in tourism.”

Also in: February 2009

• Green business: Prizeworthy?
  

  Bristol’s green credential are widely applauded – yet true sustainability for the region is a long way off. Christian Annesley reports on a work in progress.

• Power to the people
  

  Environmental technologies are evolving with money going into research and development and a strategic vision being developed to make the South West a UK leader in the sector. Christian Annesley reports.