Latest news with #SarahWilliams-Gardener
South Wales Argus
6 days ago
- Business
- South Wales Argus
Western Gateway to close after five years of collaboration
Western Gateway, covering south Wales and western England, will stop operations on Friday, June 6. That follows the UK Government's decision to end core funding for pan-regional partnerships. Established in 2019, Western Gateway brought together 28 local authorities, businesses, and universities to drive economic growth across the region and attract investment. Its achievements include securing more than £100 million for next-generation nuclear technology at the Severn Edge Low Carbon Energy Park, more than £10 million for the region's hydrogen supercluster, and delivering the first cross-border rail transport plan with local backing. Sarah Williams-Gardener, chair of the Western Gateway, said: "This collaboration has shown the extraordinary potential of our region when business, industry, and political leaders unite behind a shared ambition. "Thanks to the dedication of a truly outstanding team — and the vital support of our board — we've made a real, lasting impact. "What we've achieved together demonstrates that transformative growth is possible when we look beyond traditional boundaries. "I've been genuinely inspired by the readiness of our board members to come together, rising above political lines to focus on what truly matters. "To see representatives from five political parties, 28 local authorities and two governments working side by side — with shared purpose and a deep commitment to the region's future — has been nothing short of remarkable." The partnership began as the Great Western Cities initiative in 2016, linking Bristol, Cardiff, and Newport before expanding to cover a wider economic area. Despite its closure, leaders of the founding cities have reaffirmed their commitment to continued collaboration. Cllr Dimitri Batrouni, leader of Newport Council, said: 'Our area's potential for growth is unmatched. "South Wales and western England are forecast to grow faster than any UK region outside London and strengthen the union and, as local leaders, we are committed to making sure we can deliver on that potential. 'We know business sees no borders and with over 100,000 car journeys across the M4 bridge every day, cross-border working will be essential for our area to ensure we can make decisions which capitalise on our potential.' Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council, shares the desire to keep working together. 'I am confident that the relationships we've built up through our time in the Western Gateway won't stop here," he said. "I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues across the Severn and in the West of England to ensure we are delivering for the communities we represent.' The UK Government's decision to discontinue funding for pan-regional partnerships was made in March. While the partnership had recently secured around £2 million in additional support on top of £1 million in core government funding last year, the loss of funding means it will no longer operate in its current form. Local authorities remain committed to exploring new ways to sustain cross-border collaboration in the region.
Business News Wales
09-05-2025
- Science
- Business News Wales
Tidal Range 'Could be the Missing Part of the Jigsaw on Clean Energy'
Tidal range could be 'the missing part of the jigsaw on clean energy'. The comment came during a hearing of the UK's Energy Security and Net Zero Select Committee, which met experts who recommended that UK Government harness the tidal energy of the Severn Estuary. Last month the Severn Estuary Commission recommended that a tidal lagoon be developed which could generate a large amount of low carbon electricity as part of a commercial demonstration project that could create 2-3% of the UK's total energy supply. Three commissioners including the Chair, Dr Andrew Garrad CBE, took part in a broadcast session called 'Tidal Power and the Severn' which looked to understand the potential environmental and socioeconomic impacts of developing tidal range energy in the estuary. During the hearing, one of the committee members commented that tidal range could be 'the missing part of the jigsaw on clean energy' as part of questions around habitat legislation and job creation. With UK electricity demand set to more than double by 2050, the commissioners repeated their call to the committee for urgent investment to explore this source of energy. The Energy Security and Net Zero Committee is a cross-party group of parliamentarians which has a key role in scrutinising UK Government energy policy. Alongside the commissioners, the committee also spoke to Sarah Williams-Gardener, Chair of the Western Gateway, Shaun Gaffey, Senior Planner at RSPB Cymru, and Dr Athanasios Angeloudis, Reader in Environmental Fluid Mechanics at School of Engineering at the University of Edinburgh. This select committee hearing follows the launch of the commission's recommendations in March. In these recommendations, the commission concluded that tidal range energy in the Severn Estuary could deliver much needed, predictable, renewable electricity. Dr Andrew Garrad, Chair of the Severn Estuary Commission, said: 'I am very grateful to the committee for their time to discuss this important issue. 'Our commission met over 500 stakeholders and over 200 organisations over the last year to help come to our conclusions. Ours was the latest in a long series of commissions and studies, but our approach has been different to our predecessors and, as a result we are confident that our recommendations provide a practical way forward to make sure we can harness much needed renewable energy from one of the world's highest tidal ranges. 'Given that demand for clean electricity in the UK is set to increase rapidly, we need action now to make sure we can meet that demand in the future.' Sarah Williams-Gardener, Chair of the Western Gateway, said: 'The power of the Severn Estuary has long been known. Despite this, nothing has ever been built to harness this natural energy. 'With rising sea levels and an increasing need for localised low carbon energy, we need Government to act now to harness this incredible one-of-a-kind resource for the benefit of our future generations. 'I am grateful to the work of the commission and to the committee for their time. With their recommendations, our local leaders are looking to unite to ensure we can take these forward and I call on the UK Government to pledge their support.' The Severn Estuary has the second highest tidal ranges in the world with a 14m difference between low and high tide at its peak. In the past, a tidal barrage has been presented as a potential solution for harnessing this natural form of predictable energy, but this option was ruled out by the commission for its high environmental impact.
BBC News
24-04-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Wales-England border body Western Gateway loses funding
The organisation behind plans for a tidal lagoon in the Severn Estuary and improved rail connections across south Wales and western England, has lost its UK government Gateway received £1m a year as part of a three-year package announced in 2022, but will now cease to exist in its current form from 6 UK government announced its intention at the budget last autumn to stop funding so-called pan regional partnerships (PRPs) and wants the new system of elected mayors in England to take up their work shadow secretary of state for Wales, Mims Davies, said she was "horrified" by the decision. Western Gateway is a partnership of 28 local authorities stretching from Pembrokeshire to Swindon and had hoped for an exemption from UK government plans, because it is the only PRP to work across the borders of two nations of the a statement, the chair of Western Gateway Sarah Williams-Gardener accused UK ministers of refusing to said: "This is a hugely disappointing decision from the UK government."Despite representation from Welsh government calling for talks on how both governments can work together on this, requests to meet from business and locally elected leaders and MPs, they have refused to engage with any of us from our area on this decision."Last month a commission set up by the partnership published proposals calling on the UK and Welsh governments to build a tidal lagoon in the Severn Estuary to generate electricity. In January they revealed plans for faster trains and 30 new railway stations, with reduced journey times of 30 minutes between Cardiff and Bristol and an hour between Bristol and London. Western Gateway claimed it would add £17bn to the UK economy, but the scheme would depend on significant UK government funding to become organisation said it generated over £2m of in-kind and financial support and brought in £100m of funding for the area to try and develop the first small modular nuclear reactors in the UK. These are cheaper, smaller nuclear power stations which are partly assembled off-site. 'Different model' Western Gateway started back in 2016 as a collaboration between Cardiff, Bristol and Newport and became a UK-government-supported partnership in 2019.A spokesperson for the UK government ministry of housing, communities and local government said: "Our Plan for Change commits to ensuring every nation and region realises its full potential."Pan-Regional Partnerships have made a valuable contribution but as our English Devolution White Paper sets out, we are now moving to a different model of pan-regional collaboration where we are keen to support new models driven by Mayors and their partners."Wales does not have a system of devolution to elected mayors, but the UK government has said it would continue to work with the Welsh government to develop local growth a letter to Labour's Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens, the Conservative shadow Welsh secretary Mims Davies urged her to get her colleagues to wrote: "I am absolutely horrified to learn your government has pulled the crucial funding on the incredibly important Western Gateway."She added: "It is bitterly disappointing that the fantastic work undertaken by the organisation has been cancelled."Ms Williams-Gardener said the partnership's work showed that the area they covered could become the fastest-growing part of the UK economy outside of Wales has been told that the local authorities were keen to continue working together, but would have to do so without the support provided by Western Welsh government declined to comment.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Plans for faster trains and 30 new stations
Major plans to nearly halve rail journey times between cities and rural spots across the West have been shared. Under the proposals, 30 new stations will be built, an additional 23 services per hour will be launched and six stations will be upgraded across the south west of England and south Wales. If approved, the Western Gateway Partnership's Rail Deal will see journeys from Bristol to London reduced to an hour, and Bristol to Cardiff shortened to 30 minutes. Sarah Williams-Gardener, chair of the partnership, said the area is "poised to be the fastest-growing region outside of London". Leaders of the partnership gathered in Cardiff on Tuesday to launch the deal, which could cost up to £11bn and be partly funded by central government. If delivered, organisers believe it will add an extra £17bn to the UK economy and could see an extra 248,000 people connected to stations in rural areas including south Wales, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire and Somerset. "It [south Wales and the west of England] has not had the critical investment in public transport infrastructure that other areas of the country have seen, particularly in rail," Ms Williams-Gardener said. "This Rail Deal is deliverable and proportionate to the extraordinary offer that our economy presents to the UK." Dan Okey from Great Western Railway said they have "worked with partners for several years" on the plans and welcome the "collective ambition for investment". "We know that rail connectivity plays a vital role in supporting our communities and the plans for sustainable economic growth," he said. Improving the rail network could also help to shift freight from roads to rail, reducing carbon emissions, the deal's report states. As part of their ambitions to reach net zero, leaders hope to "address the gaps in electrification that lead to a high proportion of diesel services being run" across the area, the deal's report states. The Western Gateway is made up of local authorities, businesses and universities from across the south west of England and south Wales. A full Report on the deal proposals was published on Tuesday. Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. Rail company defends 'disgraceful' Sunday disruption Rail passengers warned of 'significant disruption' Storm Bert causes widespread rail disruption Western Gateway Partnership
