South Central Zone
The South West Regional Economic Strategy identifies seven overlapping zones which each display consistent economic and social function. The South Central Zone is centred on the South Devon area and contains four main areas, Plymouth, Exeter, Newton Abbot and Torbay. The SWRDA commissioned us to undertake research to identify how the South Central Zone can achieve its full growth potential, within environmental limits, whilst addressing some key regeneration challenges.
Evidence was gathered from four principal sources: Public policy and strategy documents, commercial property agents, a survey of businesses in and around the Zone and interviews with stakeholders from the public and private sector. The evidence was then analysed through the development and testing of four scenarios for future employment and GVA growth across the South Central Zone.
The analysis found that a complementary approach across the four main settlements (the Re-distributed Employment Growth model) would be the most effective. This is achieved by re-distributing employment patterns across the Zone, creating distinctive sector specialisms in each of the areas. The model provides positive economic growth for each of the four principal settlements of the Zone. For Exeter and Newton Abbot, this is achieved more through productivity gains and for Plymouth and Torbay this is through a combination of employment and productivity growth. The Redistributed Employment Growth model offers the prospects of the optimum economic growth in the right places and in the right form, over-achieving relative to existing projections. By contrast an ‘un-managed’ or ‘uncoordinated’ response poses risks for the long term potential of current growth.
Sheffield