South West England - Economy and Industry

Economy and Industry

The most economically productive areas within the region are Bristol, the M4 corridor and south east Dorset which are all areas with the best links to London. Bristol alone accounts for a quarter of the region's economy, with the surrounding areas of Gloucestershire, Somerset and Wiltshire accounting for a further quarter. The South West of England Regional Development Agency is based in Exeter (although this is expected to cease operations by March 2012, its functions being generally replaced by Local Enterprise Partnerships), and the South West Strategic Leaders' Board (which makes funding decisions) is in Taunton.

Bristol's economy has been built on maritime trade (including the import of tobacco and the slave trade). Since the early 20th century, however, aeronautics have taken over as the basis of Bristol's economy, with companies including Airbus UK, Rolls-Royce (military division) and BAE Systems (former Bristol Aeroplane Company then BAC) manufacturing in Filton. Defence Equipment and Support is at MoD Abbey Wood. More recently defence, telecommunications, information technology and electronics have been important industries in Bristol, Swindon and elsewhere. VOSA, the Soil Association, Clerical Medical, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, Bristol Water, and the Bristol and West Bank are in Bristol; Orange United Kingdom and the Environment Agency are based at Aztec West (South Gloucestershire); Indesit makes tumble dryers in Yate; and HP have a large site and Infineon Technologies UK are at Stoke Gifford. Knorr-Bremse UK make air brakes in Kingswood. The South West Observatory's Economy Module provides a detailed analysis of the region's economy.

The electricity for the area formerly looked after by SWEB, is now looked after by Western Power Distribution, owned by the American company, PPL.

The region's Gross value added (GVA) breaks down as 69.9% service industry, 28.1% production industry and 2.0% agriculture. This is a slightly higher proportion in production, and lower proportion in services, than the UK average. Agriculture, though in decline, is important in many parts of the region. Dairy farming is especially important in Dorset and Devon, and the region has 1.76 million cattle, second to only one other UK region, and 3,520 square miles (9,117 km2) of grassland, more than any other region. Only 5.6% of the region's agriculture is arable.

Tourism is important in the region, and in 2003 the tourist sector contributed £4,928 million to the region's economy. In 2001 the GVA of the hotel industry was £2,200 million, and the region had 13,800 hotels with 250,000 bed spaces.

There are very large differences in prosperity between the eastern parts of the region and the west. While Bristol is the second most affluent large city in England after London, some parts of Cornwall have among the lowest average incomes in Northern Europe.

NHS South West, the strategic health authority is based in Taunton off junction 25 of the M5. The Devon Air Ambulance is based at the Devon and Cornwall Police HQ in Exeter; the Cornwall Air Ambulance is at Newquay Cornwall Airport; Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance is at Henstridge east of Yeovil on the A30; the Great Western Air Ambulance is at Bristol Filton Airport (one of the last in the UK when it began in June 2008); and the Wiltshire Air Ambulance (shared with the police) is at Devizes (police HQ). The South Western Ambulance Service is on the Sowton Industrial Estate, next to the M5, half a mile east of the police HQ. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is on the A38 north of Gloucester at Twigworth, its Business Link is in central Swindon, and the UKTI office is at the Leigh Court Business Centre in Abbots Leigh, North Somerset.