Bristol and the West of England are in danger of being sidelined by the rise of the Northern Powerhouse – with this week’s Budget only adding to concerns, the area’s largest business group has warned.
Phil Smith, pictured, managing director of Business West – the organisation behind Bristol Chamber of Commerce and the Bristol Initiative – said he feared the West would “miss the boat” when it came to devolved power and funding from Westminster.
Cities like Manchester and Leeds were now stealing a march on the Bristol and Bath region, he said. 
While the West did get some “honourable mentions” in Chancellor George Osborne’s Budget speech – with a £7bn transport boost, full approval for the Bristol north fringe to Hengrove Metrobus scheme and a 2% cut in cider duty – it did not figure at all in the section on the transfer of power to the regions, said Mr Smith.
“What was most striking is how little attention is being paid to the West of England compared to the North of England,” he said in his Budget response.
“The Northern Powerhouse, a ‘comprehensive transport strategy for the North’, and new deals for West Yorkshire were all heavily underlined – as was the hopes for a stronger Northern economic performance in the future. Manchester being able to retain 100% of business rate growth was a real eye-catching pledge.
“There is a real danger that our region is going to miss the boat if it fails to get its act together and put forward a clear offer to government on how we can grow our economy in return for delivering strong leadership for jobs, skills, transport and housing growth. Our local leaders must take note that others are stealing a march on us.”
The Chancellor used the term Northern Powerhouse three times in his 59-minute Budget speech.
Last week senior figures from the West sort to challenge the Government’s focus on the Northern Powerhouse by unveiling a giant map charting area’s strength in innovation and its high quality of life at a high-powered gathering of MPs and key Government figures in Westminster.
