Our priorities and our actions to accelerate a decade of growth

The West of England is ready to lead the UK’s next wave of growth. Already the most productive Combined Authority region, we’re scaling up - with investment, innovation, and growth that benefits every community.

By 2035, we’ll be known for further enhancing our thriving sectors like advanced manufacturing, creative industries, clean energy, digital and tech - underpinned by a resilient everyday economy. With targeted R&D, sector growth plans, and our annual investment prospectus, we’ll attract more UK and global investors.

Backed by high-performing services like the Growth Hub and Invest Bristol and Bath, businesses will scale, export, and compete globally with confidence. We’ll invest in skills, infrastructure, and digital connectivity, with our universities driving discovery and commercial success. From lowcarbon innovation to digital security and creativity, the West of England will be a live lab for new ideas - with SMEs and entrepreneurs supported to grow and go global.

We’ll grow the West of England as a hub for innovative public services, backing new ideas and bold thinking. Our economy will work for everyone – with thriving local businesses, fair wages, and high-quality jobs that deliver opportunity.

While the West of England attracts significant inward investment – shortages of high quality and specialist commercial space acts as a barrier to growth. Limits in some of our digital infrastructure also hold back our growth potential.

• One of the top questions businesses looking to locate here ask is around energy supply and grid connection. We need to future proof our growth potential by ensuring this is not a barrier for businesses.
• Demand for office space is returning towards pre-pandemic levels and yet a limited development pipeline leaves supply unable to meet demand, with only 2.4% vacancies for grade A office space in Bristol.
• Industrial and warehousing space is constrained across the region, especially in Bath. This limits the type of businesses that can locate and grow here. A lack of supply also drives high commercial rents, restricting our ability to deliver comprehensive regeneration on strategic sites like Temple Quarter. Where land is available, this often needs remediation and investment to come forward, creating a barrier for businesses who are otherwise ready to invest.
• Specialist lab and R&D space is needed to meet the needs of some of the start-ups based here. The region has seen some businesses leave the region to access the space and facilities they need to grow.
• Digital infrastructure is inconsistent across the region. Parts of our region are behind the national average in terms of the full-fibre rollout and in some areas, there is poor 4G and 5G connectivity. Without a speed up in the roll out of digital infrastructure, our tech heavy priority growth sectors will be limited.
• Unlocking productivity through targeted business support: businesses need access to tailored growth support to thrive. This includes improving access to finance, export support, technology adoption, and addressing persistent skills gaps. Growth constraints we will tackle Grid supply Grade A office space Industrial space Lab & R&D space Digital infrastructure Specialist business support

1. Launch a new Business Board, which will help swiftly identify and tackle barriers to growth around new investment opportunities across the region. The Board will convene sector groups that will develop ‘sector growth plans’ for each of our core regional sector strengths, supporting an acceleration in growth.
2. Publish an inward investment prospectus, that will be reviewed regularly, to help promote the opportunities across the region, reshaping our approach to inward investment to be more targeted around our areas of sector strength.
3. Explore innovative ways to deliver a variety of employment spaces to include additional office, industrial and specialist R&D space, and to regenerate high street and industrial areas, meeting the needs of our current and future employers.
4. Refresh our support for businesses looking to scale up, focusing on enabling them to remain in the region as they grow – we will target this on our core sectors in the first instance.
5. Work with Government to strengthen international trade missions, grow visitor numbers, and develop national and international partnerships, landing even greater levels of inward investment and strengthening new trade links. We will deliver additional trade support to help our companies export. We will work with other regions where that strengthens our trade and export opportunities.
6. Seek to agree an Innovation Deal with Government through our proposals to unlock a Local Innovation Partnership Fund allocation, enabling delivery of the AI supercluster proposition with regional partners. This will enhance R&D and innovation-driven AI capability across priority sectors, driving productivity and economic growth throughout the West of England.
7. Maximise the high-growth potential of our Creative Sector by building on our designation as a priority investment area through the Creative Places Growth Fund. We will increase innovation and R&D, improve access to finance, particularly through investment, and boost international trade to help creative businesses scale up their products.
8. Deliver clearly defined pathways from education to work that will grow and benefit our priority sectors
9. Explore impact investment opportunities and the impact economy supporting purposeful businesses, social enterprises and civil society to help address regional challenges and drive growth that benefits all.
10. To future proof the region, deliver the digital and utilities infrastructure we need to bring us in line with the rest of the UK and enable our growth ambitions to be realised.
11. Support startups, spinouts, scaleups, and established businesses to grow locally through linking government, the Combined Authority and the business community driving regional growth and creating opportunities for young people. We will work in collaboration with the VCSE sector to boost business resilience and sustainability.

Transport is the backbone of growth – and the West of England is building a network fit for the future. Transport shapes the way we live our lives, the jobs we take or the places we choose to study.

A high-quality transport network makes a place attractive to investors and visitors, improves the environment, increases access to new places, and moves people and goods efficiently.

Transport connects people to services and to one another. Transport makes a place. We’re connecting more people to jobs, services, and housing through high-quality, sustainable corridors that prioritise public transport and active travel.

New transport hubs will make switching modes seamless – linking communities to major employment zones and unlocking opportunity across the region. We’re delivering sustainable transport corridors along key radial and orbital routes – designed as places for people. These corridors will prioritise public transport and active travel, unlocking growth, boosting wellbeing, and connecting communities across the region. We’re transforming bus services with a growing fleet of visible green electric buses already on the road – and we’re moving fast to improve reliability.

Rail investment will deliver £43m in annual economic benefit, with five new stations, more frequent services, and the Portishead– Bristol line connecting 50,000 people to the city. We’re investing to become the UK’s most cyclefriendly region, making walking and cycling the first choice in towns and cities. With integrated ticketing and better options, more people will choose sustainable travel. By electrifying buses, cars, vans, and rail – and building climate-resilient infrastructure – we’ll decarbonise our transport system and lead the UK’s clean mobility revolution. This is about more than movement – it’s about creating places where people thrive.

To deliver the transport network our region deserves we will:

• Transform our bus network, to meet the needs of different communities
• Improve our suburban rail network, delivering the frequency of service that people deserve
• Improve connectivity through mass transit and wider transformation of public transport
• Integrate services and ticketing so people can experience one seamless journey

Our transport network currently holds back growth.

• Transport connections across the region limit opportunity. Some residents and visitors cannot easily reach job, training, and leisure opportunities. Only 50% of the region’s population can access a major centre within 30 minutes.
• Transport connections limit housing and commercial development. If there is no public transport in place to support new developments, this results in car dependence and increases environmental impact.
• Congestion and delays are high across the region. Both Bath and Bristol are in the top 10 cities nationally for traffic delays. Delays on key routes make it hard for people to get around the region to work and learn. This leads to lost productivity as people sit in traffic.
• Poor public transport reliability is in part driven by congestion and a lack of priority for buses. With transformation of the network to better integrated transport services, ticketing and timetabling, service improvements would be seen.
• Accessibility improvements are required to ensure people with disabilities have equal access to public transport
• Public transport costs can be high and act as a barrier to both employees and businesses locating in the region.

1. Deliver a new, bold, regional transport strategy to get the West of England moving. This will be published in 2026 setting the course for the transport improvements that are a crucial component of our growth and environmental ambitions
2. Deliver improved buses, giving residents the bus network they deserve. Increasing connectivity, accessibility and integration by working with our Unitary Authority partners to create a bus friendly environment and improve the passenger experience, including rolling out more electric buses
3. Improve the suburban rail network by opening new lines and stations, increasing service frequencies making train travel an option for many more residents. Including opening the Portishead line by the end of 2027, connecting over 50,000 to the rail network, and delivering at least £43m per year economic benefit. Broader rail improvements will be vital to delivering developments such as Brabazon
4. Finally deliver mass transit for the West of England, improving connectivity to and between our growth zones and along key corridors, and expand public transport choice
5. Make it easier to walk, wheel and cycle – working with Active Travel England and investing to provide high quality infrastructure and training and support to make these ways of travelling the natural choice for shorter trips
6. Build the skills we need to deliver our transport vision. We will establish a skills for transport construction partnership between developers, skills providers and SMEs – ensuring construction across the region opens up job and business growth opportunities for residents and SMEs.
7. Make it easier to travel across the network, moving between services on a single ticket ticket and with single timetables across operators. Our improved transport network will be enhanced with integrated ticketing – starting with integration across our bus network and ultimately making it easier for people to move between different modes of transport, creating a mass transit network for the region.
8. Working with national Government and transport agencies to ensure our transport network plans unlock the housing growth opportunities across the region. This will include work with National Highways and Network Rail on key opportunities that will unlock housing and commercial development, ensuring they are well linked to public transport hubs.
9. Make it easier to use public transport, offering people support to access jobs, training and opportunities. We’ll do this in a range of ways, including by extending and broadening discounted public transport travel in ways that support our growth ambitions. We will explore how we can best use our transport system to lift children and families out of poverty.
10. Align our transport, housing and climate resilience plans to unlock growth - ensuring all new housing developments have appropriate transport links and infrastructure (including social and environmental infrastructure, access to green spaces, and access to EV infrastructure) that are fit for the future.

Housing is a core foundation of growth - and the West of England is ready to build.

Everyone deserves a safe, decent, affordable home. We’ll deliver a major uplift in housebuilding across all tenures, with a strong focus on affordability, diversity, and sustainability – linking people to jobs, opportunity, and prosperity.

We’ll invest in the 524,000 homes we already have, cutting bills and accelerating low-carbon heating. We’ll support high-quality conversions and re-use of buildings in accessible locations, and fast-track remediation of unsafe cladding through our Local Remediation Acceleration Plan.

Growth will be driven by urban and brownfield development in Bristol Temple Quarter, the West Innovation Arc, and Weston-super-Mare - bringing homes closer to jobs and infrastructure. We’ll champion compact, walkable neighbourhoods along key transport corridors like the Bristol to Bath Corridor, embedding mass transit and services. Housing investment will reach every corner - city centres, suburbs, and rural areas – while protecting access to nature, culture, and leisure. New homes will be net-zero, climate-resilient, and energy-efficient. Every development will deliver social value - creating jobs, training, and opportunity for local people.

Subject to agreement in our Spatial Development Strategy, we will aim for annual growth of 7,750 homes.

This is housing that powers a fairer, greener, more prosperous West of England.

The West of England is a vibrant and attractive place where people want to live. This is an asset for our region and our growth potential. But our historic under-delivery of new homes is constraining further economic growth.

• Housing affordability and availability is a challenge. Housing costs are around 9 times annual median earnings, well above the England average of 7.7 times median earnings, becoming unaffordable for many. This has left over 50,000 households on the waiting list for social housing.
• Quality of life is impacted by poor housing. Over 66,000 homes in the region do not meet the decent homes standard and over 2,000 children are living in temporary accommodation. Overcrowding is also an issue.
• Viability is a major constraint for our urban sites. While greenfield development is predominantly viable in edge locations, high costs of infrastructure and site remediation limit the financial case for urban delivery. In many parts of Bristol and Bath, purpose-built student accommodation is the only form of development that is market attractive and deliverable without subsidy.
• There is not enough brownfield land to meet all our housing need. In addition to reimagining how we unlock small sites, this will mean difficult decisions on greenfield growth.
• A lack of skills/workforce supply constrains our ability to meet demand, particularly for retrofit and construction.

1. Establish a £500m West of England Land Acquisition Fund, strategically intervening on key sites to deliver comprehensive and high quality development that is infrastructure-led.
2. Utilise our Strategic Place Partnership to unlock our pipeline of 15,000 homes that are stalled, working with Homes England to combine public and private investment to tackle viability challenges and accelerate delivery.
3. Deliver a Spatial Development Strategy this Parliament to spatially define our long-term vision for growth, taking a regional approach to meeting housing need and supporting the case for a step-change in transformational infrastructure including mass transit.
4. Explore the case for new delivery mechanisms such as development corporations to deliver our nationally significant new city districts, including Bristol Temple Quarter, the Bristol to Bath Corridor, and the West Innovation Arc.
5. Pilot the Small Sites Accelerator in Bristol, expanding it across the region to deliver new social homes on council-owned brownfield sites and cut the number of families living in managed homelessness. This will complement wider regional initiatives to support a diverse SME development sector.
6. Work to set the strategic direction of the new £39bn Social and Affordable Homes Programme, including shaping the tenure mix and identifying sites for housing development to be supported by grant.
7. Take an infrastructure first approach to delivering new homes, enhancing communities. This will include childcare and other services as well as the transport that supports growth. This action will ensure more people have access to the services they need.
8. Work with all stakeholders to tackle high construction costs in the region, including through prioritising a joint workstream with Homes England through the Strategic Place Partnership.
9. Deliver homes and places that are low carbon, attractive, affordable to heat, well integrated with nature, and resilient to the impacts of climate change. To achieve this, we will:
   • Integrate green and blue infrastructure into new developments, improve flood defences and improve resilience of individual buildings.
   • Create attractive places as we grow housing numbers. We will integrate nature and green spaces into new developments.
   • Ensure new developments are served by green and clean energy solutions.
10. Deliver a Local Remediation Acceleration Plan, ensuring homes with cladding are remediated as soon as possible.

We’ll build a future-ready, diverse workforce that drives innovation, strengthens our everyday economy, and ensures no one is left behind. With national reforms and greater regional control, we’ll shape an employment and skills system that meets tomorrow’s economic demands.

Our approach is bold and inclusive:

• Opportunity for all: Lifelong learning pathways will be open to every community.
• Young people will have clear routes into high-growth sectors and vital everyday roles.
• Industry-led education: Training will be built with employers, delivering real-world experience and the talent businesses need to grow.
• Digital & automation readiness: We’ll lead in 6G, AI, and robotics – equipping workers and boosting productivity.
• Green & sustainable skills: Net-zero and nature-positive growth will create demand for new expertise in energy, infrastructure, and ecology.
• Regional collaboration: A joined-up system will align education with long-term economic priorities, including through the Colleges West collaboration that is forming across our Further Education sector. By 2035, our young people will thrive, adults will access good jobs, and employers will find the talent they need. Vacancy rates will fall, inequalities will shrink, and the West of England will be a national leader in skills innovation. 72,000 new jobs across a range of sectors over the next 10 years

The West of England has high employment and people who live here have high skill levels. However, businesses across the region report difficulty finding candidates with the right skills for growth. This shortage limits innovation in growth sectors and impacts service levels in the everyday economy. Key challenges we need to overcome include:

• Regional Skills and workforce shortages - The region has one of the highest rates of vacancies due to skills shortages of all major UK urban areas. We also have notable workforce shortages in sectors key to our economy, such as care and construction.
• Employment inequalities - Employment rates and levels of economic inactivity vary considerably across the region and communities. There is growing economic inactivity due to ill health. Many people out of work are also impacted by the lack of affordable transport, housing, childcare and carer support options
• Outcomes for young people growing up in the region - We’re attracting top talent and have strong universities, but educational attainment lags the national average, and too many young people aren’t fully benefiting from the region’s opportunities.
• The accelerating pace of automation and AI adoption presents a significant displacement risk for the West of England’s labour market. Reskilling opportunities must be part of our future.
• Our skills offer will need to better align with the infrastructure investments we have planned in the region. There is need to join up sector and employer mapping with skills provision, giving a clear picture of future jobs and pay rates to stimulate demand.
• The funding landscape for skills delivery is complex and disjointed, with a range of different funders providing funding across different and conflicting timescales, eligibility criteria, and aims.

1. Develop a new regional skills strategy: delivering on the ambition of this Growth Strategy.
2. Develop a new regional approach to support young people into high-quality education and skills pathways, giving young people earlier careers advice and the skills needed for future careers across our priority sectors.
3. Support further devolution in the skills and post-16 space to provide residents with the skills for our future regional economy. We will have a specific focus on retraining opportunities linked to growth sectors across the region and simplifying the skills landscape.
4. Boost skills training and employment support in the key sectors set out in our Growth Strategy and required to enable economic growth such as construction and jobs in the everyday economy, ensuring economic growth opportunities benefit all.
5. Work with Further Education Colleges and Universities to support more young people from disadvantaged backgrounds into Higher and Further Education.
6. Continue to deliver the West of England Connect To Work Programme focused on supporting more people to be economically active and support more young people into work and training through the West of England Youth Guarantee.
7. Deliver on our Get West of England Working Plan ambitions, integrating health and employment services, supporting more economically inactive people into work in partnership with the voluntary sector and other partners.
8. Increase apprenticeship numbers to boost our core sector strengths by setting up an Apprenticeships for Growth programme.
9. Support and work with more families in poverty, to increase economic activity. Ensuring access to training, support, and job opportunities that can lift families and children out of poverty, particularly in our most disadvantaged areas.
10. Develop a network of skills academies geared to our priority sectors – linking residents to jobs. This will include strengthening green skills.
11. Deliver universal digital skills access and reskilling support, including an AI & Automation Skills centre to help residents and organisations to adapt and thrive.
12. Build the facilities our region needs to deliver skills for the future. Working alongside our universities and industry to ensure the space for cutting edge R&D facilities.
13. Work with the Department for Work and Pensions and Department for Education to identify national policy changes to deliver growth that benefits all.
14. Work closely with employers to support them to recruit diverse local talent and upskill their existing workforce.

The West of England is powering a low-carbon future.

By 2035, our position as a national leader in clean energy, green innovation, and climate resilience will be further cemented – driving growth while protecting nature and preparing for climate impacts.

Net zero will be our economic success story. We’ll lead in renewable energy – solar, wind, nuclear, and tidal – backed by smart grids and heat networks. Our transport network will be low-carbon, with expanded rail, electric buses, and active travel routes. EV infrastructure will support cleaner car travel.

New homes and buildings will meet tough energy standards, with heat pumps, retrofits, and smart systems cutting emissions. We’ll build on Bristol’s heat network leadership and unlock investment through Bristol City Leap and the Green Growth West Fund. Thousands of green jobs will be created in carbon capture, sustainable construction, and environmental tech. Nature recovery will enhance green spaces, boost biodiversity, and build flood resilience. Public and private sectors will work together to deliver sustainable growth that benefits all. We will be a nature positive, climate resilient region. Our strategy will embed climate action across transport, housing, energy, and skills – making the West of England a beacon of sustainability and a leader in the clean energy revolution.

The West of England has a growing foundation of green jobs and growth. There is the potential to turn this into a high growth sector. To do this, we need to address the following challenges:

• Grid connectivity. Progress in the transition to renewable energy generation is being held back by a lack of grid connection.
• Access to Finance. Despite a thriving clean energy sector, investment in green initiatives can still be challenging for some businesses. Job growth across this sector could be accelerated and deliver greater growth if firms have access to finance for growth.
• Green Skills. Understanding of the green skills opportunities and amazing career opportunities needs to be strengthened. Giving young people and those looking for a change in career the information they need to develop skills for green growth in sectors such as nuclear, FLOW and more.
• Innovation support. Clean energy industries are at the cutting edge of innovation. Advances such as sustainable aviation are within reach. Researchers and industry need access to the right mix of support to accelerate discovery.
• Climate resilient infrastructure. The impact of our changing climate poses threats to growth. Rising temperatures and flooding risks bring challenges that impact both infrastructure critical to growth and viability of some development sies. As we look ahead at how we plan, design, and deliver the infrastructure necessary to drive our economic growth, it’s essential that we set a clear ambition for working with nature, and prioritising climate resilience. This will ensure our investments generate long-term value by withstanding future risks, protecting communities, and supporting economic stability.

1. Support Bristol Port to attract investment in the development of Floating Offshore Wind, which has the potential to unlock 4.5GW of new renewable energy capacity, enough to power more than 4 million homes, with the potential to unlock a further 12 GW of capacity in the Celtic Sea in future rounds.
2. Unlock the opportunities of tidal energy to capture the globally significant tidal resource of the Severn Estuary, which has the potential to deliver up to 7% of the UK’s electricity demand.
3. Continue to lead nationally in retrofit services, building on regional strength in domestic and commercial retrofit to creating new jobs and driving our green economy.
4. Support businesses to accelerate the growth of green jobs through tailored skills and training programmes. Working with investors, the Green Growth West Fund also aims to support growth ready businesses to seize the opportunities of the Net Zero transition to help create 2,000 green jobs and helping to generate £300 million of turnover growth for local businesses.
5. Deliver the West of England Local Industrial Decarbonisation Plan to reduce industrial emissions across Portbury, Avonmouth and Severnside, helping the region transition to net zero while contributing up to £3.5bn to the local economy.
6. Work with GB Energy and our partners to identify local solutions to grid capacity constraints, including investigation of smart grid technologies, that improve efficiency and resilience to climate change.
7. Turbo charge our clean energy industries by growing our nuclear energy capability - working with government and regional partners to lay the groundwork for new nuclear development at Oldbury-on-Severn, with potential for construction to begin on the Government’s Small Modular Reactor Programme in the lifespan of this 10-year Growth Strategy.
8. Further support our strong community energy sector, including considering further wind turbines and rooftop solar programmes, to help it deliver its 95MW pipeline and £110m capital investment, and deliver direct support to local communities.
9. Deliver the West of England Clean Energy Investment Plan, to support growth and a just transition across the region, through the investment of more than £3bn in the region over three to five years.
10. Grow our regional leadership in the development of innovative approaches to building resilient places, as well as building retrofit, we will grow our capabilities in the deployment of natural flood management, and greening our urban spaces – capability that can deliver right across the country.
11. We will work with our partners to deliver the priorities of the region’s Local Nature Recovery Strategy, protecting our natural assets, creating rural and nature recovery jobs and working with nature to improve climate resilience of our built environment. Embedding nature-based solutions and green infrastructure to the way we grow will be crucial to our green growth ambitions.
12. Work with partners to deliver the Bristol Avon Flood Strategy and other flood protection measures that will protect communities and businesses from rising flood risk due to tidal surges and high river flows, while unlocking over £7 billion in economic benefit and preventing
13. 37 million tonnes of carbon emissions over its lifetime.
14. Work with R&D capabilities in the region to continue to innovate for the green economy.

The West of England is committed to lifting children and families out of poverty by focusing on the factors that shape long-term outcomes for children and families.

This includes improving access to quality early education, supporting families into secure and well-paid work, and ensuring children grow up in healthy, safe environments. Our ambition is for every child in the region to have the opportunity to thrive, regardless of their background.

Tackling child poverty is essential for both economic growth and social fairness. When children grow up in poverty, they face significant barriers to education, health, and future employment limiting their potential and reducing the region’s overall productivity and talent pool.

Breaking the cycle of poverty means investing in families and in the next generation, enabling more young people to thrive, with the skills needed for future jobs, giving them the opportunity to contribute positively to society and the economy. Every child deserves the chance to succeed, regardless of their background. Reducing child poverty promotes equal opportunities and helps build a more inclusive, cohesive society we can be proud of. By addressing the root causes such as housing, education, transport and health inequalities we not only improve individual life chances but also lay the foundation for a stronger, fairer, and more resilient region.

Child poverty remains one of the West of England’s most urgent challenges

Despite a strong economy and high quality of life, too many children - especially those with SEND, in care, or leaving care- face barriers to education, employment, and stable housing. Economic success is not yet shared fairly.

To tackle child poverty, we must use every lever - transport, housing, skills, and cultural access - to shape policies and investments that improve outcomes and lift families out of poverty.

• Equal access to opportunity
• Access to affordable childcare
• Housing costs & housing quality
• Access to mental health services
• School outcomes

1. Launch a strategy to tackle child poverty, by the end of 2025.
2. Explore and develop social impact investment opportunities to bring new solutions to structural challenges for young people in poverty and positioning the region as a leader in pioneering policies and initiatives to reduce it.
3. Support more parents to work the hours they want through a renewed focus on affordable and accessible childcare and offering parents tailored employment and skills support
4. Develop a regional co-operative bank of early years workers to support the childcare industry and increase economic activity, modelled on the NHS nurses bank model.
5. Partner across the MCA, Local Authorities, the VCSE sector, Integrated Care Boards and wider partners to improve health and wellbeing levels for children and families in the region through identifying and tackling the wider determinants of health.
6. Work across the region to improve access to cultural activity and nature especially for young people, focusing on improving health, wellbeing and educational attainment for families and children
7. Launch a new Social Value Framework to encourage a cross-sector commitment to supporting children and young people in the region who are in poverty.
8. Through the Youth Guarantee Trailblazer programme, strengthen our support for young people at risk of leaving education, employment or training without a clear plan for their future.
9. Work with government to identify and make the case for national policy changes that will help improve children and family outcomes in the region.
10. Commit to using all the policy levers across the region to take as many young people out of poverty as possible. This will include transport, housing and access to skills as well as working across the system to tackle health inequalities.