Strategic Objective 1: National Profile
and Promotion
Worcestershire is a magnificent business location. It is home to a flourishing
business community with world class companies successfully competing
in diverse markets at home and abroad. It offers a high quality workforce
with skilled and talented people with ideas and innovation who are
breaking new ground in industry sectors such as cyber security and
manufacturing. And it offers fantastic sporting and cultural attractions
-
all set in breathtaking landscape and areas of outstanding natural
beauty in the heart of England. Worcestershire combines City and
urban energy with refreshing rural peace, meaning residents can
enjoy a vibrant evening economy but are only ever 10 minutes away
from the quiet countryside.
The County straddles the M5, M42 and M50 motorways which provide an
unrivalled logistical access to the whole of mainland Britain. It has a good rail
network with recently upgraded services to Oxford, Heathrow Airport and
London Paddington via the Cotswold line, direct services to Birmingham
northwards and to Gloucester, Bristol and Cardiff southwards. The north of
the County also has easy access to the Chiltern line from Birmingham, via
Warwick to London Marylebone and the West Coast mainline from Birmingham
and Birmingham International (Airport) to London Euston as well as both the
northeast and north west of the country. With journey times by road of between
20
and 45 minutes to Birmingham International Airport, and the proposed HS2
rail services, Worcestershire has unparalleled access not only within UK but
also to Europe and to other major international business destinations.
The joint Worcestershire LEP and Worcestershire County Council ‘Open for
Business’ Survey 2011 highlighted the importance that businesses in the
County place on promoting Worcestershire as a business destination on a
national stage. Employers have recognised the strategic opportunities which
are available to businesses by promoting the County and through generating
value to the overall ‘Worcestershire brand’. Building a coherent narrative and
developing a core range of messages and interventions have been identified
as critical to moving Worcestershire forward on to the national stage.
PuttingWorcestershire on
the National Stage
With such rich assets at its disposal Worcestershire is now well
placed to raise its profile and position itself to increase its share of
business investment. The LEP considers this to be its number one
priority and a key area through which it will be able to generate
considerable added value to Worcestershire and for our partners
in the private and public sectors. We will look to harness the
collective strengths, resources and energies of the wider
partnership and to develop a coherent case for generating new
business opportunities, retaining our share of public funds to
lever in additional investment and attracting a greater
proportion of visitors to the County.
We will focus on three core areas:
•
Showcase Worcestershire
-
maximise the County’s exposure
at key business and commercial events to raise our profile on
the national stage and to highlight the best of what we do
•
Promote Worcestershire
-
utilise our networks and relationships
to increase the visibility of Worcestershire to generate new
opportunities in established and emerging markets
•
Position Worcestershire
-
increase Worcestershire’s
presence and relevance in key decision making
to deliver better solutions for the County’s
businesses and economy
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