How devolution could help the Central South realise its growth ambitions

The Savills Blog

How devolution could help the Central South realise its growth ambitions

A potential devolution deal for the south coast or Central South is an opportunity to implement the change the region needs to help realise its growth ambitions.

In October’s Budget, the government underlined its intention for more regions to benefit from devolution, with the first ‘integrated settlements’ being launched from next year. A new eligibility process has also been published to provide a clear path for future areas to access the benefits such status can bring. This follows Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner’s pledge in July to deliver ‘the most ambitious programme of devolution this country has ever seen’.

The Central South has recently put forward its own devolution bids to government to help drive growth. With freeport status sites, excellent national and international transport links, and a well-educated workforce – not to mention its attractive coastal offer – the Central South is poised to deliver economic success. The region includes the economic engines of Southampton, Portsmouth, and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP), which have a combined population of nearly 950,000 people and around 495,000 jobs, as well as six universities with 83,000 students.

The challenge

However, the similarly-sized urban centres have historically competed with each other, rather than complemented one another, with the lack of a clearly defined geographical area being a further obstacle to the collective promotion of the region. With a plethora of different administrative boundaries that dictate plan making and budgets, the region has arguably suffered and lost out on some big decisions and opportunities.

In recent years, there has been a more concerted effort, by businesses and politicians alike, to promote the collective benefits of the region. Despite its numerous advantages, there are just under 500,000 jobs in the three conurbations to serve the two million people in the wider region. Together with physical, land and planning constraints, the Central South currently underdelivers, economically speaking. The challenge is a high cost of living driven by high house prices and intra-regional infrastructure that does not help enable our economy.

Is devolution the solution?

The recent devolution bids from the Central South region aim to counter the current constraints in order to drive economic growth. An expression of interest has recently been submitted to government by Portsmouth, Southampton, the Isle of Wight and Hampshire, and a separate bid has been submitted that includes BCP. But whatever the geography, the more regional strategic thinking that has been emerging in business circles in recent years, with Business South taking the Central South region to MIPIM and UKREiiF, and now upper tier local authorities getting together to develop a regional vision, has to be a major step in the right direction.

The key ingredients to boosting the area’s growth include infrastructure improvements, building more housing in the right places, public transport upgrades, retaining graduates within the region’s workforce and creating employment opportunities. Much more needs to be done to ensure that the right infrastructure is delivered in line with housing and employment growth. 

A single vision

We have the opportunity through global gateways such as the ports of Southampton, Poole and Portsmouth and the three airports of Southampton, Bournemouth and Farnborough to take our place on the world stage. The region excels in human health and the marine sector and has growth ambitions in high value, global and emerging tech industries, which should in turn help improve the retention of graduates. To realise the opportunities we have in the region, it is essential that we get behind a single vision and use our combined voice to raise the profile of the south coast nationally and internationally.

A more positive growth and people-focused approach is clearly now emerging, to deliver economic growth whilst ensuring environmental and social wellbeing. This is the ticket to safeguarding what makes this region so special and will enable and encourage employers to do business here.

The region’s stronger and unified voice across upper and lower tier authorities getting behind a common goal and purpose will bring more business and employers to the region, attracted by the can-do attitude that exists amongst both existing business and local government circles. 

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