• Swindon & Wiltshire Economy
• Wednesday September 24 2025

West launches new ten-year Growth Strategy with ambition to create 70,000 jobs

A brand-new, ten-year Growth Strategy has been published today (Wednesday, September 24), with the promise of bringing 72,000 jobs to the region.

The Mayor of the West of England and council leaders were joined by business leaders and government ministers at the Bristol Digital Futures Institute to together make the case for more investment in our part of the world.

A new investment prospectus includes Mass Transit to help get the West moving and the UK’s first AI Supercluster centred on Isambard-AI, the country’s fastest supercomputer, and sets out their scale of ambition, targeting 28 per cent economic growth over next ten years.

Meanwhile, the Mayor has highlighted the continued importance of the region’s everyday economy, which provides 57 per cent of jobs across the West including in health and education, hospitality and logistics.

The Growth Strategy also confirms new work to tackle child poverty, deliver more affordable and accessible childcare, and generate another 135 megawatts of clean energy.

As the combined authority works ever closer with its North Somerset neighbours, the Growth Strategy sets out a future bold for business: with a growing population of more than 1.2 million people and a growing economy already worth £53.7 billion, the West has delivered 21 per cent economic growth over the last decade – a major contribution to the British economy and above the national rate.

The Growth Strategy sets out an ambition for a new £500 million West of England Land Acquisition Fund to tackle the housing crisis and ensure high-quality development with the infrastructure that local people and businesses need.

The 120-page strategy highlights sectors with the strongest job growth in the West during the last decade. In that time, the everyday economy (+17 per cent), digital and tech (+52 per cent), creative industries (+82 per cent), and clean energy (+140 per cent) saw the highest job growth of any region in the country – including London.

Planning ahead for the next ten years, major growth zones identified include the West Innovation Arc, Central Bristol and Bath, the Severn Estuary, the Somer Valley, and North Somerset Growth Gateway.

This is the West of England, a new video to start to better tell the region’s story, was shown for the first time at the event today alongside exhibitions from companies and organisations from across the West Country.

Airbus, Bath Fashion Museum, Boomsatsuma, Step and Stone, and YTL were among those showcasing what they bring to the region.

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “The future starts here. The West is the best place to invest.

“Our new Growth Strategy is about securing investment for our part of the world to make a difference that we can all can see and feel, including new jobs for local people and better transport to cut congestion and boost productivity.

“Growth must not be an intangible economic concept. It is about all of us – it is about our whole region working together for a brighter future in this new chapter for the West.”

Matt Griffith, director of policy at Business West, added: “We congratulate the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority on its compelling proposition for investment and inclusive growth. It provides a clear narrative of what our region could achieve, if we have the right investment.

“This is not our region going cap-in-hand to government, but setting out a strong case to invest in our region, unlock our full potential and contribute to national economic growth.

“We welcome the plan’s commitment to work closely with the business community on this agenda, including establishing a new Business Board. We encourage the authority to ensure a wide spectrum of business and sectors can engage with the board, to ensure it truly reflects our region’s varied business landscape.

“We are pleased to see the plan address long-standing constraints to growth, from mass transit, housing and employment land costs, to grid capacity and skills gaps in key sectors. We have long campaigned for improved transport; it is fundamental to improving economic growth, social mobility, cohesion and decarbonisation.

“In the past six months, there have been significant developments across business and policy that have helped our region hone its offer to investors: a business-focused Mayor in post, the development of Futures West, the Brunel Centre’s inaugural insights into productivity, and now a credible and actionable growth plan.

“Business West is focused on driving long-term prosperity for businesses and the region, and are committed to doing our part to help achieve this plan’s vision.”

The West of England Growth Strategy will be taken to Government next week at Labour Party Conference and the Mayor and council leaders’ next joint meeting on October 17.

Image courtesy of Phoebe Stephen / Boomsatsuma