Bristol Business Guide

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The role of the Local
Enterprise Partnership
The Local Enterprise Partnership - a
public private partnership between local
business, the four universities of Bath,
Bristol, Bath Spa and University of
West of England, and the four local
councils of Bath & North East Somerset,
Bristol, North Somerset and South
Gloucestershire - work together towards
the vision for a buoyant economy
competing internationally, based on
investment by innovative, knowledge-
based businesses and a high level of
graduate and vocational skills.
The West of England Local Enterprise
Partnership provides leadership to
proactively drive and deliver
sustainable economic growth alongside
an enhanced quality of life. Our role
is to create the right conditions for
business to thrive, give confidence
and certainty to investors to attract
and retain investment.
We work to ensure a resilient economy
that is low carbon and resource
efficient, and is proofed against future
environmental, economic and social
shocks. Together we create places
where people want to live and work,
ensuring broadband, transport, housing
and cultural infrastructure to unlock
suitable locations for economic growth.
Working in partnership, the aim is for
a rising quality of life for all, easier
local, national and international travel
and cultural attractions that make the
West of England the place of choice
for talented, creative workers and
affluent visitors. We are determined
that success will be achieved in ways
that are energy efficient, protect air
quality, minimize and manage waste
and protect and enhance the natural
and built environment, building on
the distinctive mix of urban and
rural areas.
Our population is growing and is
more educated and skilled than the
national average. We are large
enough to contribute some £10 billion
to the Treasury, but small enough to
have a strong sense of identity and
local community.
The West of England region has a
rich heritage of international trade
and knowledge, innovation in design
and engineering. We have an
exceptional quality of life provided
to us by a strong cultural sector and
the surrounding environment. Nine
out of ten people who work here live
here. This creates local dynamism
and spill-over effects between various
clusters, creating a ‘hotbed of
innovation’. This is informed by our
four universities, driven by small and
medium companies and nurtured by
our cultural industries.
The West of England LEP has secured
£230.7m through Growth Deals that
will be invested in the West of England
from 2016-2021. This investment will
be matched by £180m of additional
investment from local partners and the
private sector. Together this funding
will create at least 6,000 jobs. We are
now looking forward and working with
local businesses, the universities and
the local authorities on future
programmes for investment to
maintain our position as a key
contributor to the national economy.
For more information
Working in Partnership
West of England Combined Authority
The devolved powers over housing, transport, skills and economic
development that sit with the newly elected Mayor of the West of England
Combined Authority, offer an unprecedented opportunity to act as a
catalyst for a renaissance of English Cities. This critical strategic role,
that will oversee the an overall investment fund of almost £1 billion,
alongside the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership, will mark
a step-change in the collaboration between Bristol City Council, South
Gloucestershire Council and Bath and North-East Somerset Council and
the private and third sectors.
For more information see
As one of the best cities in the
world, (The Sunday Times 2017),
in which to live and do business,
Bristol has been successfully
awarded titles that mark it as a
template other cities can follow
to meet the challenges cities
face in the 21st Century.
In 2015 Bristol was the European Green
Capital; this year Bristol has been
awarded a 2017 UNESCO Learning City
Award and the European City of Sport
2017. Bristol is also an officially
designated Science City that hosts
world class scientific research and
development conducted in its
universities and business sectors. This
international profile is exemplified in a
number of twin cities and regions that
are building stronger cultural and
business links with Guangzhou, China;
Hannover, Germany and Bordeaux,
France to name just a few. We will
continue to build on these partnerships
to deliver an even better city in which
to live and do business, now and into
the future.
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