Investment roadmap charts multi-billion boost to Dorset economy

The Dorset Living Better prospectus is live!

An investment roadmap aimed at delivering a multi-billion-pound boost to Dorset’s economy and thousands of jobs over the next 10 years has been published.

The Dorset Living Better prospectus presents an ambitious portfolio of investment opportunities across all that is best and unique about the areas covered by BCP Council and Dorset Council.

In the next decade it aims to deliver:

• a £24 billion uplift to the local economy
• 48,000 jobs
• 480,000 sq m of new commercial floorspace
• and 8,600 new homes
• while protecting and enhancing Dorset’s world-class environment

It sets out how Dorset can embrace technology to be at the forefront of confronting some of humanity’s biggest challenges – from an ageing population, to sustainable food production, to tackling climate change and cyber security - while also growing the local economy.

It details how key sectors in the Dorset economy including health, finance, defence and aquaculture can evolve and attract new investment, and why 5G connectivity is a vital catalyst for innovation, social inclusion and wellbeing.

And it focuses on why some of Dorset’s unique attributes, including an older population, one of the best integrated care systems in England, and an outstanding natural environment, can be harnessed for social good and economic gain.

Ambitions include:

• Delivery of the proposed Medtech (medical technology) Science Park at Wessex Fields, bringing together health research, education and industry to be a global leader in health innovation, especially for healthy ageing.
• The creation of a National Aquaculture Centre of Excellence and an offshore aquaculture park to tap a global £173 billion market for sustainably farmed fish, shellfish, aquatic plants and algae, and build on Dorset’s national status as a ‘High Potential Opportunity’ for aquaculture investment.
• Developing Dorset’s defence and cyber security cluster, working with the Army’s BattleLab Defence Innovation Centre at Winfrith, to develop new products and technologies that could be commercialised. This is especially relevant given last week’s [March 22] defence review and the commitment to invest £23bn in new technology.

Work on the prospectus began last summer and has been driven by the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), working closely with local authorities, business, education and environment groups.

Cecilia Bufton, Chair of the Dorset LEP, said: “This prospectus is about how Dorset can evolve and innovate its economy to accelerate positive change, especially in the wake of coronavirus. We want Dorset to be an exporter of new thinking, a place where new approaches are tested, proven, and transferred, supporting our economy, environment and communities in the process.”

BCP Council Leader, Drew Mellor, said: “There is a real opportunity for Dorset to live better in the wake of the pandemic and emerge stronger and more resilient. This prospectus focuses on how we can bring those benefits to all our communities and be at the centre of a global recovery.”

Dorset Council leader Spencer Flower said: “Some of the biggest challenges of our age – from an ageing population to climate change to sustainable food production – come together in Dorset as opportunities to grow knowledge, investment and wellbeing. We must grasp that opportunity.”

Ian Girling, Chief Executive of Dorset Chamber, said: “The business community has a vital role to play in creating wealth and jobs in Dorset and will welcome this prospectus, setting out as it does a roadmap to recovery and beyond that embraces new technology and builds on our strengths.”

The prospectus is divided into four key themes which span Smart, Wellbeing, Natural and Living.

Each theme details Dorset’s current strengths and future opportunities with some immediate ‘asks’ of Government including formal recognition of the Bournemouth Christchurch Poole City Region; the creation of a ‘Smart Challenge Fund’ to help businesses exploit new technologies; a Rural Productivity Deal to support the rural economy, and a Digital Skills Partnership to co-ordinate digital skills provision.

The prospectus will help inform future bids to the Government’s £1.5 billion regional Shared Prosperity Fund which is launched next year, and more immediately to the £220m pilot scheme called the Community Renewal Fund, details of which were published in the Chancellor’s Spring Budget.

The Dorset Living Better investment prospectus is available to download at www.investindorset.com

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Notes to Editors:

Dorset LEP

Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership is a business led private and public sector partnership, promoting local economic growth and prosperity. Dorset LEP deliver projects that support and develop infrastructure, housing, skills, enterprise and business growth to achieve long-term economic benefit for all in Dorset.