Responding to the Chancellor’s speech in Oxford this morning, Paul Britton, Chief Executive of Thames Valley Chamber of Commerce (TVCC) said:
“The Chancellors announcement today from Oxfordshire of infrastructure investment and the Governments support for expansion of Heathrow are welcome. This will provide a much needed boost to the prospects of our Thames Valley business community and resilience through new critical infrastructure.
“While some of the signals in recent weeks have been mixed, with the disappointment of the delay to approval and construction of a much needed new hospital programme in Berkshire still in the memory, these latest announcements point to Government hearing the Chambers call that growth in the Thames Valley and wider South East needs to be unlocked to boost the prospects of the whole country.
“The supply chains across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Swindon run far and wide across business communities throughout the UK, and centres of excellence for our key sectors here can play a key part in the Governments wider growth agenda and for generations to come.
“On East-West Rail which provided the backdrop for todays message from the Chancellor, Accredited Chambers have worked together to promote the merits of this rail investment in their respective communities, and seeing this come to fruition will be a win for businesses seeking closer transport connections between two powerful research based communities. Now imagine if we get what the Chamber has long been calling for – a new Western Rail Link to Heathrow. Connecting with East-West rail, we can speed up rail access to Heathrow from communities in Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, which is in addition to benefiting millions of people across the South-West.
“The argument for a third runway has been well rehearsed. Thousands of new jobs, market access, competitiveness for the UK. Building capacity at Heathrow will create better connectivity to global markets for local businesses but also for communities across the whole of the UK through regional airports. As the largest port in the UK, exporters will also benefit from greater reach into new markets. The UKs inward investment prospectus needs this boost, and the exciting decarbonisation and sustainable aviation fuel solutions in development will be put into action. The debate will run on to reach planning approval, but with the environmental considerations, this needs to happen at pace and supported by better rail links from the West this will be transformative for the region.
“So this is a big step in the right direction. What businesses need to see now is a credible plan from Government to boost UK exports for SMEs, and a strategy to incentivise (not penalise) businesses to invest in their staff development and work with their local colleges. Government needs to get on with backing Local Skills Improvement Plans to provide the experience of work for young people and the skills to deliver the decarbonisation and digitalisation which will be essential to bring these investments to life.
“We should not underestimate the opportunities that these signals for investment will create for the Thames Valley but there is more work to do. The attractive notion of a “silicon valley of….” risks remaining a widely used place marketing slogan rather than a reality felt by local business communities.”
