According to John Wilkinson, director of homes and regeneration at the West of England Combined Authority (WECA), the region is already one of the UK’s most productive, but its leaders believe it can go much further. 

Under metro mayor Helen Godwin, the combined authority has set out a bold, long‑term regeneration agenda designed to unlock stalled housing sites, overhaul transport, and build an innovation‑driven economy anchored in green industries and advanced manufacturing.

“We need to get rid of the things stopping the region from achieving its potential and give it some rocket boosters,” says Wilkinson, citing mass transit and skills as key drivers of growth.