Minister meets Welsh and English businesses in Bristol to see how the area is innovating for Net Zero

Minister for Small Business, Consumers and Labour Markets, Paul Scully MP, met with businesses from across the Western Gateway on Thursday (16th June) to discuss how the area is working to reach Net Zero and create economic growth.

Chairs of the Local Enterprise Partnerships in Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire and representatives from the West of England Combined Authority joined with businesses from England and Wales at the Engine Shed in Bristol. These included engineering firms from Portishead, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Viper Innovations, Seamach energy and Versarian, and the creator of Welsh based high street app, NearMeNow.

They discussed the problems facing small businesses across the area and highlighted how great local innovation could spark growth for the rest of the UK.

The meeting was convened by the Western Gateway Partnership. The pan-regional partnership representing South Wales and Western England brings together public sector, business and research to level up communities, create sustainable growth and work to reach Net Zero.

Paul Scully MP, Minister for Small Business, said: “It was fantastic to hear first-hand the work that Western Gateway is doing to drive innovation that reduces our reliance on costly fossil fuels, while helping to connect local communities and spur investment across South Wales and Western England.

“Cross border partnerships like these, that harness the talent of local communities, are a key part of our plans to level up the UK and I look to forward to continuing to work with local leaders to help unlock growth right across the country.”

Cllr Toby Savage, Leader of South Gloucestershire Council and Vice-Chair of the Western Gateway Partnership, co-chaired the meeting with the Minister.  

He said: “We know that our Western Gateway area has so much to offer the rest of the UK and the world. We are home to world leading industry, renowned universities, and highly innovative clusters and stand ready to unlock growth to create a further £34billion for the economy and drive the transition to Net Zero by becoming the UK’s first Green Energy Super Cluster.

“Our area is also home to a vibrant community of small and mid-sized businesses. It was a pleasure to be able to host local business leaders today as they outlined their plans for growth to the Minister and explained why the Western Gateway area is ready to harness local innovation.”

Paul Moorby, Chair of the Swindon and Wiltshire LEP and Western Gateway board member, said: “It was great to be able to host the Minister on his visit to the Western Gateway region. It was great to host businesses that are at the forefront of creating the green revolution. They are driving innovation across multiple sectors and bringing high value jobs to the area.

“We had a good constructive meeting with the Minister, discussing how we can unlock productivity. I look forward to working together with government on this in the future.”