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.