THIS month, I joined the Prime Minister and other regional leaders in the first meeting of the Council of Nations and Regions up in Edinburgh.
While the name may sound a little grand, in reality it’s an important step towards a more equal relationship between national government, the devolved parliaments, and regional mayors.
By working together, we can unlock much more of the great potential we have in the West of England. That’s why, as mayors, we have committed to producing Local Growth Plans, which will identify what we need from central government to help us tackle challenges around transport, housing, and skills.
This plan will show the way to greater economic growth. Alongside that, a new era of genuine partnership working with Westminster will see regional mayors given further powers to further deliver for our communities.
Central to delivering the Local Growth Plan is bringing investment into the region. I was proud to show off the West of England to investors from around the world at the Prime Minister’s International Investment Summit, showcasing our existing strengths and the enormous potential we have here.
In the West of England, we already have a strong record of delivering investment to create better infrastructure and public services.
Just in the last few weeks, the second new railway station in 100 years has opened at Ashley Down.
Since being elected Mayor, I have been working to deliver our very own “reverse-Beeching”, opening new stations for the first time since those disastrous rail cuts back in the 1960s.
Two new stations have opened in the last year and there are more planned, including at Henbury and North Filton and, I hope, at Saltford.
Now, in Ashley Down, thousands of residents are closer to a train station than at any time since before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. With it, there are now more sustainable travel options to get into the centre of Bristol.
I have always believed that if you give people affordable and reliable public transport options, they will take them up. Good transport infrastructure is also crucial to delivering business investment, and these new stations will support our ambitions in this area.
But we also know that, even as we invest in securing growth, we also must transition to a greener and more sustainable economy. That is why my mayoral combined authority is setting up a new fund to drive £100 million of green investment in our region.
With £10m of public money to kick-start it, this fund will vitally lever in private investment in renewable energy, retrofit projects, and nature recovery projects.
It is because of this track record of delivery that I can say to businesses at events like the Investment Summit: the West of England is open for business, so come and invest here.
The West of England is going from strength to strength, and a new partnership with national government will help us deliver even more in the future.