Agenda item

The Leader presented the report to colleagues. The Western Gateway Partnership was established in November 2019; a strategic partnership which aimed to deliver an economic powerhouse along the M4 and M5 corridor, driving growth on both sides of the Severn.  As one of five cities, Newport was a key player in the success of the partnership and stood to profit from the benefits that greater collaboration would bring.  As a partnership, there were nearly 4.4 million residents, approximately 160,000 businesses and in the region of 2.1 million jobs.  We also enjoyed excellent connectivity with major motorways and roads, two airports and deep-water ports. 

The last update was provided in February 2022 and since then the partnership was busy developing and embedding priorities and workstreams.  As a Vice Chair of the Partnership, the Leader was proud of the way the partnership was growing and maturing and the real progress that was being made towards delivering on commitments.

The Leader was pleased to report that a new Prospectus was launched and identified five missions, all of which sought to deliver greater regional growth as well recognising the need to decarbonise our economy. 

The first mission was to grow the regional economy by £34 billion by increasing productivity within the region.  We know that the Western Gateway was already home to over 55% of the UK’s high growth businesses, including our very own semi-conductor cluster in Newport, yet collectively we had a productivity level lower than the UK average.  It was clear that there was a need to bridge this gap to ensure that the region fulfilled, and hopefully exceeded its potential.  This involved working with supply chains and linking businesses together to make them more resilient and efficient.

The second mission was to grow international trade and exports by £4 billion.  With our excellent connectivity and accessibility to multi modal forms of transport, Newport was an international gateway capable of securing direct access into international markets.  We had a global brand to offer which could lead to greater investment and increased exports for our businesses.

The third mission focussed on decarbonisation and becoming a world leader in green energy.  We had all the core assets available to us, including solar, tidal and wind.  The Severn Estuary alone had the potential to contribute up to 7% of the UK’s energy needs.  When this was coupled with the emerging excellence we had in the region in relation to hydrogen, we were starting to see the real potential for renewable energy generation.  This would be transformational to meeting our future energy needs.

The fourth mission sought to improve connectivity between all businesses and communities across the region.  It was important for people to be able to travel to access basic needs such as housing, work and education.  We were currently looking at rail connectivity and how we can join up and address any gaps arising from improvements to the Great Western Mainline and the Cardiff Capital Region’s Metro scheme.

The final mission recognised the importance of innovation and the need to support and grow super clusters within our high value sectors.

In order to deliver these commitments, the partnership board were always looking for opportunities to raise awareness of the region and promote the opportunities which existed.  The first Western Gateway Conference was held on 8th March last year at the Newport International Convention Centre for Wales (ICCW) and was very well received.  A Development Conference was held in November in Bristol and the partnership also had a presence at the UK Real Estate Investment and Infrastructure Forum.  Having a presence at international trade events helped raise awareness of Newport and the wider Western Gateway and provided us with access to investors which we would not have otherwise.

In terms of governance, the partnership updated its Governance and Assurance Framework to ensure that the terms of reference for the board remained up to date and appropriate.  South Gloucestershire remained the accountable body for the partnership and secretariat staff.

The Western Gateway was principally funded by a capacity payment from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and £3 million has been secured for the next three years. An annual financial contribution of £10,000 was paid by Local Authority partners to support the work of the Secretariat. 

Comments of Cabinet Members:

·        Councillor Davies welcomed the fact that we were part of the western gateway and was one of the eight cities whose objectives were part of a cleaner fairer future. To deliver this to 4.4M people was inclusive and helped towards the goal of a decarbonised future.  The Deputy Leader encouraged residents to visit the website, which set out the ambition for the Western Gateway.  There was also encouragement for the development for the regional energy strategy to be carbon neutral by 2050. Councillor Davies also wanted to point out that it showed how well we were working in Newport to deliver a carbon neutral agenda by 2030 which was good practice, and this would feed into Western Gateway.

·        Councillor Hughes who worked on regional groups within the city wanted to acknowledge the Leader’s role in forging partnerships with the region and the significant impact it was having on improving the City.  Whilst it was a regional initiative, Newport had played its part and was benefitting from these success stories.  It was also promoting our city within the region and the decisions we made would make a significant impact.  Councillor Hughes therefore thanked the Leader for her role.

·        Councillor Marshall mentioned that Newport was a big player on a regional basis, sitting between England and Wales.  Newport had a vibrant artistic scene and had great position geographically.  It was an opportunity to look at what we could deliver for the partnership and the Cabinet Member for Social Services was looking forward to seeing the regional partnership progress Newport with these exciting projects.  Councillor Marshall also echoed Councillor Hughes comments that it was good to have the Leader representing a strong voice for the city.

·        Councillor Batrouni added that as a new councillor and resident to Newport that Newport had a negative vibe and it was welcoming to hear his Cabinet colleagues mention all the positive things about Newport. It was also important to remember that Newport was the gateway to Wales with links to London, the port, and the Roman history, there were so many things going well for us.  Newport also had the greatest potential to fulfil the aims and objective of the Western Gateway prospectus.  Our ambition also to be a data City also showed what we were going to delivery. Newport had the assets and the people as well as the leadership and show cities in the partnership what we could deliver.

·        Councillor Harvey also thanked the Leader for promoted Newport and reiterated that Newport was the gateway to Wales and loved Newport, it was a wonderful place to work and raise a family.

·        Councillor Lacey echoed the comments of colleagues adding that the Newport was a gateway city to many businesses and held a strategic position between two airports and deep-water ports and we were seeing technological businesses setting up in the western side of the city.  The ICCW was bringing headlining conferences to the city.  It was exciting to see growth with independent retailers over past few years.  There was also well-paid jobs attracting people to come and live in Newport.

Decision:

Cabinet was updated on progress with the Western Gateway partnership and the potential benefits to Newport.