New group in pipeline to support manufacturers

A new manufacturing cluster group is to be established by the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative at Business West, bringing together businesses in the sector to tackle shared challenges around skills, infrastructure and more.

The establishment of the group was revealed at the Wiltshire Business & Economy meeting from Business West, which gave delegates a chance to network, hear more about the work of the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, and hear from some of its partner organisations.

Ian Durston, Programme Manager at Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, gave an overview of the local industrial strategy, which is due to be published imminently.

The strategy is based on five key foundations of productivity in the region: places, people, ideas, infrastructure and the business environment. It will provide a platform from which the LEP can build on present and future work to achieve sustained, inclusive future economic growth, explained Ian.

Visit Wiltshire CEO David Andrews gave an update on the Great West Way – the pioneering new place marketing initiative that sees the A4 corridor between London and Bristol sold as a touring route to visitors.

A third of the Great West Way runs through Wiltshire, and VisitWiltshire wants to encourage tourists to spend more time in the county, instead of dropping into Stonehenge during a day trip from London that might also include Bath or Oxford.

Brexit was also on the agenda, with Matt Griffith, director of policy at Business West, telling delegates how they could prepare their businesses for the UK’s departure from the EU.

And Dee Temple-Multon, manager at the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative, introduced delegates to innovate2succeed, a Business West innovation programme.

The next Swindon Business & Economy meeting will be held on Wednesday, October 23 from 9am to 10.30am at the headquarters of Excalibur Communications.

The agenda includes Switch on to Swindon on inward investment, an update from Swindon & Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership, and news from the Swindon & Wiltshire Initiative.§

To register, visit www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/swindon-business-economy-meeting-tickets-73963802725

The next Wiltshire Business & Economy meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 20 from 9.30am to 11am at Wiltshire College’s Lackham campus.

For more information, or to book a place, visit www.businesswest.co.uk/events/wiltshire-business-economy-meeting-4

For more information on the manufacturing cluster, email Tina Doyle at Business West at tina.doyle@businesswest.co.uk