2024 Convention for the Western Gateway – One Month on

Nearly a month on, we are still recovering from the fantastic response we’ve received following the 2024 Convention for the Western Gateway, presented by SSE Energy Solutions, held on the 17th October at the ICC Wales in Newport.    

Bringing together businesses, local leaders, and academia to launch Our Plan for Sustainable Growth, the Convention acted as an incredible launch pad for how we can build on our area’s potential to be the fastest growing economy outside of London.  

With over 600 attendees from across the UK taking part, we brought together all the major players in one room to plan how we can create sustainable economic growth. 

The day was filled with inspiring discussions, innovative ideas, and valuable opportunities for people to connect with local businesses from across South Wales and Western England. 

Featuring supportive addresses from both Ministers Dame Nia Griffiths MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Wales and Rebecca Evans MS, Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Energy and Planning for the Welsh Government, the event was a demonstration of united working between England and Wales. Both ministers understanding of the importance of collaboration between public and private sector set a motivating tone for the day, highlighting the need for collective action to address the challenges and opportunities we face in areas such as green energy and investment. 

Following events on the main stage, attendees engaged in focused breakout sessions to get to grips with the issues around delivering a future economy. These interactive discussions allowed participants to dive deep into key topics, leading to some interesting takeaways: 

Investment: Western Gateway research suggests that there is a £3-9m investment gap for businesses in the area when compared with other parts of the UK.  How can we overcome this to bring more investment into the area? 

• The Western Gateway is about collaboration and bringing places together to match the demand for finance with supply at scale and enable the public sector to deliver for its communities. 

• We need more touch points with institutional investors to ensure we don’t miss the boat on planning for delivery and can get projects moving quickly. 

• The vital importance of appropriate skills and workforce to deliver our ambitions. 

Net Zero: As countries around the world rush to meet global targets to reach net zero, how can we best use local skills and natural resources to ensure that low carbon energy can power our ambitions? 

• Discussed how collaboration across the region is essential to address interconnected needs and that investing ahead of need can enable better strategic planning to ensure local requirements are met. 

• Western Gateway facilitates regional collaboration and promotes the area on a national stage, with initiatives emerging such as GW-SHIFT, with the support of the Western Gateway. 

• Western Gateway could be the first UK region with large-scale nuclear SMR and other advanced energy systems. The region needs to proactively showcase its growth opportunities to attract businesses and economic opportunities that will benefit local communities. 

• Workforce and skill shortages could be a challenge, particularly in fields like steel.  

Connectivity: as the area with the “least well-connected Core City” in the UK, how can we better connect our communities and our economic clusters nationally and internationally to drive innovation and unlock productivity? 

• Certainty is the key driver for securing private sector investment. 

• Emphasis on partnership working to achieve more for the region and greater championing of successes. 

• Connectivity is about serving communities and how it can change people’s lives.  

• Rail deal can bring in £17bn investment and create access to the network for 248,000 people over the next 25 years. We need a continued shared and strong advocacy with industry and academia.  

Cyber and Tech: given our world leading strengths in digital industries including creative sector and cyber security, how can the area’s innovation be taken to the next level? 

• The Western Gateway is strong in its formations of partnerships and organisations in the innovation sector. 

• We need more connectivity across the region which will give us greater recognition. We can see that investment in infrastructure offers a return on investment. 

• Ways to address inclusion into the innovation economy include encouraging female-led businesses and groups, information campaigns about connectivity and the benefits of fibre as well as word of mouth campaigns encouraging their success. 

• The region needs more transparent access to research facilities and link these to anchor institutions with the help of organisations like the Western Gateway to help them understand what they want their role to be. 

Nature: Our area is home to areas of incredible natural beauty and important wildlife habitats. How do we enhance our natural habitats for future generations while creating sustainable economic growth? 

• Clear agreement that nature is critical to ‘feel safe, valued and a sense of belonging’. 

• There was an emphasis on thinking differently on nature and infrastructure and how they interact with each other. 

• Opportunities include: nature and health for investment from philanthropic projects, partnerships with advanced tech and related funding, integration throughout regional strategies. 

As we move forward, we are excited to see how these conversations will evolve into actionable plans that benefit our region and promote sustainable growth. Earlier this month, we delivered our signed open letter to Government, calling on them to work with the area to partner on a set of asks within Our Plan for Sustainable Growth and to support the fastest growing economic region outside of London.  

If you would like to join the growing coalition of organisations dedicated to shaping a sustainable future for our region, please email us stating your endorsement.