The South West section includes key facts, Top 25 companies ranked by turnover, transport statistics, political tables and regional contacts.
This is an extract from the South West section of UK plc
Perpetual change
Some UK cities see gradual change, others hardly change at all. Bristol, it seems, is under a state of permanent revolution. The capital city of the South West of England is undergoing redevelopment of its commercial and retail core and increased residential development in the centre.
And while the city centre residential boom that has seen other UK cities transformed by modern urban dwellers has been relatively slow to take off in Bristol, it’s happening now. Though it is also fair to say that the desirable residential districts of, say, Manchester and Leeds, aren’t as close to the centre as Clifton is to Bristol’s heart.
That said, over the last three years Bristol has seen a massive acceleration in the number of city centre residential schemes receiving planning permission and building work beginning.
According to research by King Sturge, Bristol now has 3,000 apartments (1,000 of these added in last three years and 450 sold in the last year). There are a further 4,000 units under construction or with planning and are likely to be delivered in the next three years. Demand levels are reported to be strong – Bristol city centre has a non-resident workforce of 90,000 people and hopefully the quality product now coming through will attract more. Almost half – 47 per cent – of the city centre population is aged 20 to 34 and many are relatively affluent. Commercially, Bristol is now seeing a new breed of “super offices” which are far bigger and more environmentally-friendly than their predecessors, and new corporate headquarters at sites such as Temple Quay, are around twice the size of what was being built in the city a decade ago.
The region’s other major urban centres also see great change. A £350m redevelopment in Plymouth and finally some movement on Land Securities Princesshaye retail scheme in Exeter add to the momentum. The Plymouth scheme will see the 15-acre Millbay dock transformed by the English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Muse (formerly Amec Developments), Legal & General and the government’s land agency, English Partnerships. South West Regional Development Agency is also involved, as is the city council.
The tourist industry underpins everything in Cornwall and large parts of Devon.
While Newquay Airport and some improvements to the routes into the county have helped, the weather in 2007 did not. The sunny August bank holiday saved the day with a “multi-million-pound boost to the regional economy after a torrid July and August” according to South West Tourism.
The Eden Project had its best weekend of the year, Paignton Zoo pulled in three and a half thousand people on both days and every beach from Bigbury to Sennen Cove was full of sun seekers.
The South West is already taking matters into its own hands with the launch of ‘Towards 2015,’ a tourism strategy aimed at encouraging more people to holiday. It has a three-pronged plan of action: develop sustainable tourism, improve the quality of existing establishments, and most importantly, shout, with more gusto, about what’s here.
A good example of the pace of development comes on the riviera where Brixham is also seeing development thanks to South West Regional Development Agency including 40,000 sq ft office and industrial space at Oxen Cove and a similar-sized retail revamp of the town centre. The fish market is also receiving attention.
Michael Taylor is acting editor for
South West Business Insider magazine