Higher-value sectors underperform

Across the urban areas of the ‘Central South’, gross value added (GVA) in higher value sectors, such as ‘information & communication’ and ‘finance and insurance’ is set to underperform the national average. Concurrently, growth in lower-value sectors such as ‘arts and entertainment’ and ‘administrative & support’ are forecast to outpace the UK.

Housing delivery track record

Despite strong future growth ambitions, the urban centres have a long record of underdelivery, fuelled by a multitude of constraints. Housing delivery, measured by net additional dwellings as a proportion of total stock equals 0.2%, 0.5% and 0.6% across Portsmouth, Southampton and BCP, respectively, for the past three years. In all of these hubs, housing delivery has underperformed the national average at 0.9% since 2019. In Portsmouth, housing delivery has consistently failed to meet housing need as per its Local Plan target, whilst it has yet to deliver more than 0.5% additional homes as a proportion of stock since 2010.

Strength of focus

With over 86,000 jobs, human health and social work is the largest employment sector across the three hubs, accounting for 17% of all jobs. This is as high as 22% in Southampton, much higher than the 13% across the UK. Southampton is also set to see much higher growth in the number of jobs across human health and social work, with 14% more people employed in the sector expected by 2033 compared to 2023. This is again higher than both BCP and Portsmouth as well as the UK.

Southampton is also a significant hub for the maritime industry. The University of Southampton adds to this with a strong maritime engineering programme. Initiatives have included research projects on maritime technology, workforce development programmes, and efforts to attract maritime-related businesses to the area. Poole also has a strong maritime industry.

Another strength for the region is aerospace and defence. It has been one of the most active in generating business investment, with £6.8bn invested since 2016, equal to 21% of the total.

Whilst some high-value sectors underperform relative to the national average, there are individual successes across the region. BCP, for instance, has a strong finance and insurance sector, making up 7% of all jobs, compared to 3% across the UK. Portsmouth, with its historical connection to the British Navy, has 13% of its workforce employed in public administration and defence.

The need for a more strategic approach

Due to their size and location, the combined area of Southampton, Portsmouth and BCP arguably falls ‘under the radar’ from a national perspective, having to shout louder than most for the ears of those with influence.

With part of the area in the South East region and the rest in the South West, it falls on the periphery. That is part of the reason for the ‘Central South’ initiative, a collection of local authorities that straddle both the South East and South West. This is not the first initiative either, far from it. The South Coast Metropole, established in 1993, was a loose union of local authorities designed to promote common interests, including Southampton, Portsmouth, Bournemouth, Poole and the Isle of Wight. PfSH (Partnership for South Hampshire) is another collection of local authorities with no statutory powers collaborating with other agencies such as the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, the Environment Agency and Homes England to give the area a single voice.

Business South also acts to join the dots between business, politics and academia. It lobbies on behalf of the Central South region for the greater good and has been instrumental in the emergence of the Central South concept.

_{Read the articles within Central South: unlocking capacity for growth – Q1 2024 below.}