The Paddington to Bristol service has been getting a lot of custom from some very high profile people in recent weeks. Government Ministers, the Governor of the Bank of England, even London’s Lord Mayor have come to see what we’re up to.
It’s plain they recognise what we’ve been saying for some time: Bristol is moving through the gears into a new phase of growth and development.
Confidence amongst local businesses has not been this high for many years, unemployment figures keep falling and there is a real prospect for more growth should we win a decent slice of the Government funding that our Local Enterprise Partnership has bid for – close to £500 million.
I’m confident we will do well from that, because our bid relies not on pumping money into infrastructure, but projects which are much further downstream – driving forward sectors which are already success stories. We have so many of the ingredients here we just need to play to our strengths.
So is there anything that can hold back our future? Only a lack of ambition. There will always be those uncomfortable with the prospect of growth and change, but we have to accept that – to achieve greater levels of productivity and output - prosperity which ALL of Bristol can share - we need critical mass.
Moreover, we need to think far more as city region than we do at present, with all our unitary authorities working together as a leading european and world cities region towards the greater good.
Bristol is a small growing city trying to compete on a global stage. We must be bold in bringing forward new developments and initiatives which create good quality, sustainable jobs and opportunities. It doesn’t mean sacrificing our quality of life – far from it. But it does mean thinking big and sometimes differently. Our driving ambition is to tackle inequality and stimulate health, wealth and prosperity. Is Bristol & the West of England up for that challenge?
To hear more, or get involved contact james.durie@businesswest.co.uk
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