South West

Introduction

The South West is the largest of the nine English regions, extending over 350km from the south west tip of Cornwall to the northern border of Gloucestershire. The region also has the highest percentage of rural land of any English region, and the highest percentage of population living in rural districts. The main urban areas are Bristol, Bournemouth & Poole, Plymouth, Swindon, Gloucester, Torbay, Cheltenham and Exeter. The largest of these, the Bristol urban area, has a population of more than half a million people and is the ninth largest urban area by population in England and Wales. In the South West there are currently six counties, containing a total of 35 districts, and also ten unitary authorities. However, both Cornwall and Wiltshire counties will become unitary authorities from 1 April 2009, thereby merging their current county and district councils.

The three major road routes into the South West from the east are the M4 from London, the A31 along the south coast, and the A303 mid-country. Traffic from the north is mostly along the M5, which continues down the region until joining the A30 serving Devon and Cornwall beyond Exeter. The region has several main line railways, with good services east to west and along the south coast. However, some outlying areas are less well served, as are some north-south connections. The South West has major ports at Bristol (Avonmouth and Portbury), Poole and Plymouth; the latter two include ferry ports. The region also has international airports at Bristol, Exeter and Bournemouth.

There is a marked dichotomy in prosperity within the South West, with the north and east being the economically most productive areas, whereas Gross Value Added (GVA) levels and earnings are considerably lower in the western counties. Cornwall receives EU Convergence funding, the only area in England to qualify for such, in recognition that its economy lags behind the European average, as measured by Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per head of population. Although the overall regional breakdown of industries by sector is much as for the whole of England, in many areas agriculture and tourism are economically very important.

Recent Visits

• on 15 May 2009, Vernon Coaker, Home Office Minister, spoke at the PREVENT conference, and undertook policing visits around Plymouth
• on 11 May 2009, Ben Bradshaw, Regional Minister for the South West, attended the Real Help Now Roadshow "Real For Communities" in Bristol
• on 8 May 2009, Ben Bradshaw, Regional Minister for the South West, visited a Sure Start Centre in Exeter to celebrate the occasion of the 3000 Sure Start Centres in the country
• on 27 April 2009, kevan Jones, Defence Minister, hosted a meeting of the MOD regional engagement group and third sector invitees in Bristol
• on 24 April 2009, Ben Bradshaw, Regional Minister for the South West attended an Anti-Violence against Women and Girls roadshow in Exeter
• on 22 April 2009, Paul Clark, Transport Minister visited Plymouth for Dobwalls by-pass opening
• on 16 April 2009, Jim Knight, Schools Minister, visited the city for an Economic Engagement Real Help Now event in Bristol
• on 15 April 2009, Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Education, attended an NUT conference and a short visit to Porchester Sports College in Bournemouth
• on 2 April 2009, Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for Food, Farming and Rural Affairs, attended a Ministerial Roundtable at the Royal Agricultural College in Gloucestershire
• on 26 March 2009, Home Office Minister Alan Campbell visited various Anti Social Behaviour events in Swindon
• on 19 March 2009, Cabinet Office Minister Kevin Brennan attended the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning Training in Bristol
• on 18 March 2009, Minster for Health Dawn Primarolo visited the Change4Life event in Bristol
• on 11 March 2009, Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills Lord Drayson visited Bristol University as part of 'Bloodhound Day'
• on 10 March 2009, Communities and Local Government Minister Sadiq Khan visited the Local Government Association Fire Conference and Salaam Shalom Radion Station in Bristol
• on 7 March 2009, Regional Minister Ben Bradshaw visited Somerset College Conference Centre and the Travel Watch South West bi-annual meeting in Taunton
• on 27 February 2009, Secretary of State for International Development Douglas Alexander visited the Bristol Fairtrade Fashion Show opening and had a speaking engagement at the International Affairs Society
• on 23 February 2009, Ben Bradshaw visited Rolls Royce in Filton
• on 12 February 2009, Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills Lord Young visited the National Skills Academy Financial Services regional launch, SS Great Britain and Student Listening at University for the West of England in Bristol
• on 9 February 2009, Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Ed Balls visited Churchfield School and Drove School in Swindon
• on 9 February 2009, Minister for Innovation, Universities and Skills Sion Smith visited Swindon College
• on 8 and 9 February 2009, Minister for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Huw Irranca-Davies visited Brixham Fisheries folllowed by the Appledore Fishing Complex opening
• on 6 February 2009, Minister for Transport Lord Adonis visited Bristol for the National Skills Academy Financial Services regional launch
• on 5 February 2009, Huw Irranca-Davies visited the Environment Agency at Weymouth

Map

To navigate and view adjacent areas, use arrows on top left hand side, or click on map and drag. To zoom into Cities and Towns, click on the + or - buttons.

Demographics for the South West

Mid-2007 Population Estimates

Figures updated annually. Last update February 2009. Source: Office for National Statistics.

Regional Minister for the South West: Jim Knight MP

Children and Learners

Large-scale Private Finance Initiative (PFI) projects are providing new and replacement schools across the region. These include:

• a £57.3m project in Bristol to rebuild/refurbish four secondary schools, including Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in the form of an autistic unit at one of the schools. The contract was signed in March 2004, and all schools became operational from September 2006
• a £71m project in Cornwall for a new secondary school, a new primary school, and the extension and modernisation of 15 existing primary schools, in the Truro and Penryn areas. The contract was signed in March 2004
• a £79m project in Devon remodelled a primary school and replaced five high schools. The contract was signed in March 2004. The primary school opened in April 2005; works on the high schools were phased from September 2005 to January 2006
• a £62.8m project in Swindon will provide three new primary schools, one new secondary, two special schools (one primary and one secondary) and a replacement building for a further secondary school. The contract was signed in April 2005

Health and Well Being

• the NHS South West Draft Strategic Framework was launched on 15 May 2008. It is one of the most ambitious in the country, and was well received. The consultation has now closed; all comments and feedback were taken into account when preparing the final document which was published on 20 November 2008
• more than £150m is being spent on major redevelopments within the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation trust precinct over the next five years
• the centralisation of specialist paediatric services at the Bristol Children's Hospital and a major extension to the Bristol Royal Infirmary are scheduled to be completed by 2013-14
• North Bristol Trust is in the process of procuring a £430m Private Finance Initiative (PFI) hospital on the Southmead Hospital site which will bring together the acute services currently provided on two hospital sites
• in Plymouth, a new £13.3m Care Centre at Mount Gould Hospital opened in October 2006, built under Plymouth Primary Care trust (PCT)'s Local Improvement Finance Trust initiative. The centre will house the school of podiatry and a range of services designed to improve patient's access to health and social care
• £39m was allocated to the Plateau Project to build a new and expanded Cardiothoracic Centre at Derriford hospital, which opened in June 2007. Funded by the National Heart Team, South West Strategic Health Authority (SHA), Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust and the Peninsula Medical School, the centre will increase the number of heart operations performed at the hospital

Crime

• Bournemouth, Bristol, Exeter, Gloucester and Plymouth have been named as five of the 40 priority Respect Action Areas in England, for being councils who have strong records in tackling anti-social behaviour. The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) is also backing the scheme with £6m of funding in 2007-08 for parenting classes in the 40 areas
• the region is also receiving almost £3.03m in Basic Command Unit Funding in 2008-2009 to help deliver crime and disorder reduction locally, and promote partnership working.This level of funding will be maintained in 2009 - 2010
• in 2008-09, the region also received £5.5m allocated under the Drugs Intervention Programme (DIP) Revised Main Grant to enable implementation of local delivery of the updated National Drugs Strategy. Bristol, as an Intensive DIP area, receives £2.4m, and the remainder is shared across the region. This level of funding will be maintained in 2009-10

Transport

• total public expenditure on transport in the South West (by Department for Transport, including road and rail, local authorities and public corporations) has increased by 52% in the five years to 2007-08, from £881m in 2002-03 to £1,336m in 2007-08
• the £42m Barnstaple Western Bypass in Devon includes a 2.7km bypass and the 409-metre Taw Bridge; this opened in May 2007
• the £93m Bodmin Indian Queens Improvement is a 7mile stretch of new dual carriageway carrying the A30 main road into Cornwall
• the £54m Dobwalls Bypass in Cornwall was completed for through traffic in January 2009
• full completion of the £58m A419 Blunsdon Bypass near Swindon is due in April 2009
• the £42m Greater Bristol Bus Network (GBBN) comprises improvements to 10 corridors to achieve a step change in bus services. Measures include new bus lanes, priority at junctions, improved bus stops with real time information and a new fleet of vehicles. Completion is due 2011
• the £14m A350 Poole Twin Sails Bridge has been sent out to tender, with an intended construction start date in Autumn 2009
• the £79m A354 Weymouth Relief Road gained full approval in December 2008. Work has started on site, and is due for completion before the 2012 Olympic Sailing Events in Weymouth Harbour

Social Inclusion and Regeneration

• investing includes, over £38m from 2001-06, and £16m from 2006-08 to fight crime and tackle the deep-rooted problems faced by the most disadvantaged communities in the region, under the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund
• more than £156m has been committed since 1997 for projects under the Single Regeneration Budget, to reduce the gap between the South West's deprived areas and the rest of the country and improve the quality of life for local people
• £3.6m has been allocated over three years for two Neighbourhood Management Pathfinders in Bournemouth and Gloucester, to bring residents and agencies together to improve residents' quality of life, and ensure more effective public service delivery
• funding of £2.4m has been awarded over seven years for a further Neighbourhood Management Pathfinder in North Devon
• as part of the Safer and Stronger Communities Fund, four areas in the South West will also receive Neighbourhood Element Funding from April 2006. These include Bristol, Plymouth, North Somerset and Penwith. Each area will get approximately £1.6m over four years, with Bristol getting £3.2m. In addition to this, Bristol, Plymouth and North Somerset will receive funds of £2.1m over two years to help them achieve outcomes around the Cleaner, Safer & Greener agenda

European Funding

In 2007, the EU launched a new round of European funding programmes for the next seven years to 2013. There are two new programmes - Convergence, which covers Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, and Competitiveness & Employment which covers the rest of the South West. Within each programme there are two main funds - European Social Fund (ESF) and European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). ESF is being managed in this region by GOSW and ERDF by the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA). Within Convergence there are also smaller pots of funding to support the rural economy and fishing industry; these funds are also being managed by the SWRDA.

Details for the two funding streams are given below:

• ERDF: £311m funding for Convergence programme, with an objective to establish the momentum for transforming the economy to a high value added economy where knowledge, environment and quality of life underpin sustainable economic growth. £83m funding for Competitiveness programme, where the objective is to increase the prosperity of the region through supporting enterprise and individuals to develop ideas and plans which contribute to increased productivity and competitiveness
• ESF: the Learning & Skills Council (LSC) and Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), through Jobcentre Plus, have been awarded an initial allocation of £47m and £16m respectively for Convergence, and £35m and £17m for Competitiveness to deliver ESF activity during the first half of the programme. Both organisations are now procuring delivery of a range of training and support to help people into work, and to increase the skills of those already in work. The Convergence programme also includes an initial £18m to deliver Higher Education and higher level skills within Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. As a result of exchange rate gains, more funding has been made available to both the LSC and DWP to provide additional support in response to the recession. The LSC have been awarded £4m for Competitiveness and £7.7m for Convergence; DWP have been allocated £3.5m and £2.9m respectively

An early example of a project under the Convergence programme is the rail improvements to the Truro to Falmouth branch line. Announced in July 2008, this £7.8m scheme is part of the overall transport strategy identified for the Truro area in order to achieve its wider economic, social and environmental objectives to 2016 and beyond. £4.7m of the costs will come from Cornwall's ERDF Convergence programme for 2007-13, with a further £2.5m provided by Cornwall County Council and £600,000 from Network Rail. Detailed design work on the enhanced rail service has already begun, and work is expected to begin on site in October 2008, with a new timetable commencing May 2009.

Source: Office for National Statistics. Last updated 26 June 2009 

Internet links

• Neighbourhood Statistics
• Regional Snapshot