Hard times for Bristol in a tale of two cities
IT was a tale of two West cities as Bristol missed out on being given a freeport, which it had been hoped could have boosted the region’s economy by £3 billion per year.
While there was despair in Bristol as the city’s docks was not among the eight bids announced during Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Budget, there were celebrations in Plymouth.
The so-called Great Western Freeport would have been based around Bristol Port and, according to the West of England Combined Authority, could have created up to 50,000 jobs.
But in a Budget that prioritised investment in the North, the only successful freeport bid in the South West came from Plymouth.
The outgoing Mayor of the West of England Tim Bowles said he was “bitterly disappointed” the bid was not selected and that he was looking forward to “a prompt and detailed explanation” from ministers about why it was not taken forward.
He added: “I still believe the strength of our region and economy could have made us an exemplar of how modern freeports could be a success.
“We had widespread support across the region for the bid which the Government have told us met their criteria, so I look forward to a prompt and detailed explanation from ministers about why they did not take our bid forward.”
When the bid was revealed earlier this year he had said a freeport would boost the South West as a global leader in high-value design and innovation, and build on the region’s strengths in aerospace, nuclear and food manufacturing.
It would also encourage significant growth in green manufacturing and technologies, he had said.
Dan Norris, Labour’s candidate to replace Mr Bowles, who is stepping down in May, said: “The West of England could be a hive of innovation and job creation – but there won’t be a freeport in our area, while there wasn’t any major green stimulus, and the Green Homes Grant was cut by £1 billion.
“There was nothing in this Budget for all the fantastic wedding and events venues in West of England, or all the businesses that rely on them to help them through this crisis. Neither was there anything for the aerospace and aviation sectors which are crucial employers in the region.”
Meanwhile, 100 miles to the South West senior business figures in Plymouth reacted with surprise that its bid had been accepted.
Tim Jones, chairman of South West Business Council, said he was “blown away” by Plymouth being named as a freeport, having been involved in what he calls a “last-minute bid”.
“Plymouth has snuck in. We didn’t expect that at all,” he said.
The freeport bid for Bournemouth, Poole and Christchurch was also not selected. The chief of Dorset Chamber, Ian Girling, said he was “incredibly disappointed” but the region stood ready to seize any similar opportunities in future.
While Swindon and Bournemouth were given specific funding totalling £41 million for regeneration, there were few other concrete new measures for the region.
The Forest of Dean, Gloucester, Mendip and Sedgemoor are the only four West authorities listed as priority 1 among more than 120 across the country for the £4.8 billion LevellingUp fund.
The Government published the prospectus of how authorities can bid for that funding yesterday.
Other West authorities such as
Cheltenham, the Cotswolds, South Gloucestershire and Wiltshire were listed as being among the lowest priority for investment.
Mendip and Sedgemoor were also listed as priority 1 for the smaller £220 million Community Renewal Fund, alongside Herefordshire and South Somerset
While much of Mr Sunak’s spending announced yesterday was targeted at the North, campaigners in the countryside were left disappointed.
Crispin Truman, chief executive of CPRE, the countryside charity, said: “The Chancellor’s Budget simply doesn’t add up. The government can’t claim to have a ‘real commitment to green growth’ while using funding models that systematically disadvantage rural communities and worsen the climate emergency.
“By levelling up between urban and rural investment, not just north and south, we could regenerate many rural towns and villages that have been long forgotten.
“It’s just not right that government spending per person on public infrastructure is 44 per cent higher for urban areas than it is for rural areas with no major cities.
“We risk levelling up northern cities to the level of London and leaving rural areas stuck in disadvantage and decline.”
His comments were echoed by James Watson, head of decarbonisation at Bristol law firm Osborne Clarke, who said: “From a decarbonisation perspective and bearing in mind our net zero ambitions, it was disappointing.
“I get a sense there is not yet capacity in government to truly prioritise the environment despite declaring a climate emergency, mainly due to the pandemic and possibly because of issues around Brexit.”