Investors could be lured away from Westcountry
Jobs destined for the Westcountry could be lost to Wales and Scotland as the region’s economic development body is dismantled, MPs have been told. Sir Harry Studholme, chairman of the South West Regional Development Agency (RDA), which the coalition Government plans to scrap, said experts it employs to lure overseas investors to the region are being head-hunted by agencies in Wales and Scotland. Sir Harry, a successful Devon-based businessman, told a Commons select committee that losing civil servants that boasted strong contacts with foreign companies put “vital” inward investment at risk. Many of the biggest firms in Devon and Cornwall are overseas-owned, including Cornish china clay firm Imerys and Plymouth-based chewing gum manufacturer Wrigley’s. During an hour-long session with MPs and heads of RDAs across the country, Sir Harry said that the South West’s inward investment team played a crucial role in encouraging foreign firms to create even more jobs in the region. The South West RDA also has outposts in Melbourne, Tokyo and Mumbai
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