Wiltshire
Economic overview
Wiltshire has a strong economy and relatively low business
costs. This and the ease of accessibility due to the "M4 corridor
effect" has led to this area becoming a very attractive business
proposition.
Swindon, in the northern part of the county, is home to many
national and international corporations, such as Honda, Intel,
Motorola, and Dyson. In addition, with many famous landmarks
situated in the area, such as Salisbury Plain, Stonehenge and other
ancient sites, there is a strong tourism industry, which benefits
the regional economy.
Wiltshire’s employment structure is distinctive in having a
significantly higher number of people in various forms of
manufacturing (especially electrical equipment and apparatus, food
products, and beverages, furniture, rubber, pharmaceuticals, and
plastic goods) than the national average. In addition, there is
higher than average employment in public administration and
defence, due to the military establishments around the county.
RDA support
One of the Agency’s focuses in the county has been to maximise
the economic impact of the significant Armed Forces presence which
contributes some £400 million per year to the local economy.
We have helped to develop the Wiltshire Military-Civilian
Integration Programme with Wiltshire Council which enables better
collaborative planning to ensure that the socio-economic challenges
that will occur as a result of the Super-Garrison idea are dealt
with in an integrated way.
In Swindon, the Agency has focused on the regeneration of
Swindon town centre through the acquisition of key sites that will
enable the development of Union Square - a new commercial
centre.
Given the recession and significant uncertainty in the property
market, the Agency has brought forward £2.85 million of investment
in the Canal Walk regeneration scheme – the prime retail area of
central Swindon. Work on this £6.7 million project officially
started in August 2009. New high quality paving is being installed
along with public art as part of efforts to improve the town centre
and create the right conditions for private sector investment as
market confidence returns.
The remainder of the funding has been provided through the
Government’s Growth Points scheme and the project is being
administered by urban regeneration company The New Swindon Company, of
which the South West RDA is a founding partner and funder.
The Agency is also involved in the master-planning of the
Swindon Eastern Development Area, where it is proposed 14,000 new
homes, employment space and community facilities could be
built.
The South West RDA’s other main investment in the county during
2009/10 and 2010/11 is £1 million towards the cost of building a
new visitor centre at Stonehenge. The project is linked to
improvements to the local road network.
A further £3 million of funding will be provided to rural
businesses in Wiltshire through the EU’s RDPE programme, which is
being administered by the RDA.
The Agency is also supporting the Health Protection Agency’s
project to build new hi tech labs at Porton Down which would be
made available to local SMEs working in the biotech sector.
In total, the RDA will invest £5.5 million (capital and revenue)
in Wiltshire and Swindon during 2009/10 and 2010/11.
The county will also directly benefit from £103 million
investment in region-wide projects during the period.
The Area Director for Swindon and Wiltshire is Tony Bray.
The team can be contacted at the RDA's Bristol Office.