Businesses from across South Wales and Western England joined forces with local MPs and local leaders at an event to celebrate the area’s plans to double the size of their economy by 2050.

The event was hosted by the Western Gateway Partnership in partnership with leading place-based impact investor, BBRC and followed the 2024 Convention for the Western Gateway which saw the launch of the area’s Plan for Sustainable Growth. 

The plan sets out how the area can capitalise on it’s potential to become the fastest growing economy outside of London over the next five years.

The event in Westminster was hosted by chairman of the Parliamentary Labour Party, Jessica Morden, MP for Newport East.

It featured speeches from Dame Nia Griffiths MP, parliamentary under-secretary for Wales, and John Glen MP, shadow paymaster general. 

Jessica Morden said: “As we all know, the Western Gateway area continues to demonstrate a really phenomenal appetite to convene talent and capability across critical areas for the future.

“The Western Gateway Partnership really wants to ensure the area delivers for everybody in it and that’s what this Plan for Sustainable Growth is all about. We already have the people, the natural resources the pre-existing key sectors and, vitally, a committed and coherent partnership focused on making the very best of the abundant assets.”

Dame Nia Griffith said: “The Western Gateway is an absolutely unique area. It’s unique in the geography, spanning two countries but it’s also unique in its wide range of hi-tech industries, thus enhancing opportunities for investment and innovation.

“We’re absolutely clear we want growth and prosperity in all regions of the UK. But equally, we can’t achieve the sort of growth we want unless we have the input from regions and nations.  

John Glen said: “We have such a range of opportunities both in terms of new energy and new opportunities of the economy. We must prioritise and we must have a clear ask given that we are competing with other regions of the UK notwithstanding the excellent growth we’ve seen so far in our area."

Ed Rowberry, chief executive of BBRC, said: “We strongly welcome the Western Gateway’s plan for sustainable growth and we think BBRC has a key role to play in its delivery.

"To date, as a place-based impact investor we have delivered more than £70 million investment into our region. Our focus now is on scaling up the impact of what we do, working in partnership with the Western Gateway and other key players across the area to ensure that we help leverage as much investment as possible into our region”.