His tour included visits to those who have recently been awarded funding from the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership’s (WE LEP) £25 million Growth Fund, which is supported by the Government’s Local Growth Fund, to see first-hand how government money has helped local enterprise to grow.
The Business Secretary joined WE LEP in the University of Bristol’s SETsquared Centre at Engine Shed for a round table discussion on the key issues driving growth and job creation in the region. The strategic economic plan submitted to Government by the WE LEP earlier in the week was also on the agenda.
The meeting was followed by a tour of Engine Shed, Bristol’s newest innovation hub which is now housed in Brunel’s original train station, following a £1.6 million refurbishment of the building. The hub is a unique collaboration between the University of Bristol, WE LEP and Bristol City Council.
Nick Sturge, director of Engine Shed and the Bristol SETsquared Centre, introduced Vince Cable to three fast growing, highly successful SETsquared businesses: Blu Wireless Technology, Plexus Planning Ltd and Fusion Processing Ltd. Blu Wireless Technology have just received £1 million from the Growth Fund.
Nick Sturge said: “We were pleased to welcome Dr Cable back to SETsquared in our new home and to demonstrate some of the cutting edge technologies being developed here.
“He was particularly interested in the CycleEye technology from Fusion Processing and we were delighted to be able to report on the exciting level of activity within the tech cluster in Bristol and Bath.”
Bristol Mayor George Ferguson and Colin Skellett, WE LEP chair, talked the Secretary of State through the plans for Bristol Temple Quarter Enterprise Zone.
Dr Cable said: “Intelligently targeted government support is helping small businesses across the country to grow and create new jobs. Today I’m witnessing that here in Bristol fast-growing businesses like those based at SETsquared are providing a real boost to the economy.”
His visit ended at the Pervasive Media Studios at Watershed, where he met with PocketSpaceCraft .