Thread by @MattWGriffith

So in light of the good news on Honda site's sale, a niche thread:

On employment land, the eternal balance between manufacturing vs shopping and what it means for local UK economic strategy..

1/

First up - the good news.

Panattoni are a big global logistics firm and they secure the future of the site. Great news.

Reading through the releases, appears will either maintain or increase no of jobs on the site. V +ve for Swindon employment.

2/

Logistics is a massively booming industry at the moment, but many traditionalists will regret that the site isn't being used for advanced manufacturing of some sort.

Why? 3/

Well view is:

Advanced manufacturing more likely to have deeper local supply chain / spill over effects.

Jobs may be higher value.

Gives clearer local sectoral 'niche' - all the world has warehousing not everyone has x manuf sector... 4/

Logistics seen as providing less added value, and based on fulfilling retail demands - where economic beneficiaries are often global.

I won"t comment on the above - we have to wait and see what new buyers will do.

However there is a clear employment land supply issue: 5/

Logistics is hovering up loads of available employment at the mo:

✅Big Amazon warehousing being built in Swindon
✅Jn 17 of M4 has big logistics site in the offing.
✅Lots of other major regional site in Avonmouth is going to warehousing
✅And now Honda Swindon site.. 6/

I dont think local authorities or Gov have got their head round this scale of demand.

I also dont think they understand implications for attracting non logistics investment to new UK sites (the whole point of global Britain is to try and do this). 7/

Our region has basically given up on providing big strategic employment sites for new manufacturing/ other sectors.

These new sites were key to growth in 1980s and 90s - look at north fringe of Bristol / Aztec West / aerospace clusters plus Honda itself. Swindon grew this way
8/

Apart from Gravity sites in Bridgwater & Filton, I cant think of single big site left in our patch.

Councils want land for new houses. Even pro growth Conservative authorities appetite for employment limited

E.g. Swindon has no new employment allocations in current plan. 9/

But what do we offer big global investors to locate in the UK?

Especially given sky high demand from logistics?

Without protected new strategic employment sites, risk triumph of online shopping over manufacturing. A new e version of an old UK economic story

10/

Previously, UK's Industrial Strategy was inching in this direction - looking at cutting edge sectors & providing land to support this.

But LIS has been kicked in bin. Treasury now in charge of growth policy.

But they need to think fast - cause facts on ground changing fast

END

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