THREE Gwent council leaders have been named as part of a 14-strong board to drive forward the idea of a city region for South East Wales.

Councillors Bob Bright (Newport), Bob Wellington (Torfaen), and Peter Fox (Monmouthshire) are among those charged with providing what minister for economy, science and transport Edwina Hart called “leadership, vision and strategic direction”.

The scheme is designed to create an entity strong enough to compete with the rest of the UK and Europe in terms of attracting investment and jobs.

The board will be chaired by Welsh Rugby Union group chief executive Roger Lewis, who will have as his vice-chairmen Cllr Russell Goodway, cabinet member for finance and development at Cardiff council, and Professor Colin Riordon, vice chancellor of Cardiff University.

Other board members include: David Stevens, chief operating officer with insurance company Admiral; Matthew Hammond, regional chairman of PriceWaterhouseCoopers; Dan Langford, group marketing and communications director with Newport-based Acorn Recruitment; Ann Beynon, Wales Director for BT; and Professor Julie Lydon, vice chancellor at the University of South Wales.

Mrs Hart told the Assembly the board must act as a driver to secure input and expertise from the private, public and education sectors for the city region concept.

The drive to success, she said, must come from “partners within the region”.

She added: “Regional and local buy-in and input is vital to successful city regions, and I will be looking to the board in that regard.”

Overcoming the parochialism that often defines relationships between urban and Valleys areas in South Wales will be key to the success of the city region idea.

The make-up of the new board has a strong Cardiff element, acknowledging the capital’s position as the region’s biggest single entity.

However, the inclusion of three Gwent council leaders and a range of expertise from the business and education sectors recognises that city region benefits must not be stalled by traditional boundaries.

Mr Lewis said a city region has “tremendous potential... to make a transformational economic impact across Wales.”

An early focus of the board, which will meet for the first time next month, will be to learn from the successes of other city regions with Stuttgart in Germany, twinned with Cardiff, set to be considered.