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Community News

Businesses sign up to Switch On To Swindon Swindon Fact File

• The UK’s 7th most productive
By Jamie Hill the firm as we Chair of Influence,
The business community has come know it today, Swindon’s economy with £58,514 GVA
together to mark the official launch the Hyundai business voice, per worker – compared to the
of Switch On To Swindon, a new and Suzuki Nicky Alberry has national average of £53,666
• 5th highest employment rate
initiative designed to highlight the dealership, championed the
town as a great place to live, work, started development of in the UK.
invest in and visit. approximately the campaign. • Between 2010 and 2016
With Swindon ranking as the 40 years ago. She added: Swindon saw the second
7th most productive economy in Dom said: “Swindon largest increase of any UK city
in its share of private sector
the UK, as well as having the fifth “Over the years Swindon has waxed performs well in many of the key
highest employment rate, the town and waned, but if you scratch the economic indicators of successful Knowledge Intensive Business
offers a wealth of possibilities for surface there is a lot going on towns but the perception of Services jobs.
businesses and individuals. However here. We’re looking forward to a Swindon makes it harder for the • Nationally significant clusters
this can sometimes be overlooked. time where Swindon is going to be town to fulfil its true potential and of high-growth businesses
delivering £6.6 billion GVA
Switch On To Swindon plans to reborn again, thanks to the many achieve its economic, regeneration
change this and show the world plans, including Switch On To and development goals. Through the economic output.
exactly what Swindon has to offer. Swindon and others, to regenerate campaign we are inviting people • Swindon is the UK centre of
The initiative is supported by parts of Swindon and help it to come together to change these excellence for hydrogen fuel cell
Swindon Borough Council but very achieve its potential. misconceptions. technology.
• In the past decade, the number
much led by local businesses, who “What we already have is a great “Our network of ambassadors
came together on 24 January at location and connectivity, a legacy made up of businesses of all of start-ups has increased by
Audi on Delta Business Park to hear of fast growth and boundless sizes and industries, community twice the national average.
more about the plans. enthusiasm, especially from our leaders and individuals will be the • The ratio of house prices to
Central to the success of the younger generation. Switch On champions of our town and the earnings is one of the best in
campaign is the network of the To Swindon is enabling everyone catalyst for our future. By showing the UK.
town’s ambassadors - local business – businesses, communities and people, both inside and outside of • Swindon has the UK’s highest
representatives, community groups volunteers – to come together with Swindon, just how positive doing concentration of foreign-owned
and individuals who support and a common goal for where we want business and living here can be, we businesses (19%).
champion Swindon. the town to go. It’s giving us the can shout about the Swindon story • In 2014 the number of
patents granted per 100,000 of
One of the first ambassadors direction and focus that we have and help ensure it prospers.”
is Pebley Beach’s Dom Threlfall. lacked before. It’s giving the heart For more information or to sign up population was 7.88, compared
Pebley Beach was created at the of Swindon a shot of adrenaline.” as an ambassador visit to a national average of fewer
turn of the 20th century. However Leading local business person and www.switchontoswindon.com than 4.

The Spirit of Swindon: Forget the stethoscope – tell me your postcode

By Tom Wilkes on behalf of Spirit of this for the health of well over
of Swindon half of us in the medium and
Most of us will have heard of the longer term is grave for individuals,
postcode lottery, where people their families and their employers,
in one part of the country have and its impact on the funding
health treatments open to them and sustainability of the NHS is
which others do not, eg a shorter increasingly worrying.
waiting time for a hip replacement Those who have followed earlier
or better support for IVF. But there articles in Link will know Spirit
is a far more worrying association of Swindon’s concern to raise
between someone’s postcode and awareness of economic inequality in
their health which is revealed by the UK, and health is an area where
the figures for how long men and that impact is more obvious.
women might be expected to live in As a country, the UK is at the
different parts of the same town. wrong end of the scale when it
Figures from 2014 reveal that comes to health issues such as fuel poverty – the choice whether and Transform’ provision locally to
men who live in one of the most obesity and life expectancy. The to be warm or hungry – ‘health make a real and lasting impact on
challenging areas (a voting ward) data gathered nationally and poverty’ is another way of framing income inequality, then we ought
of Swindon can expect to live internationally over the past 7 years deprivation. to grasp them.
nine years less than men who live show a clear association with the If you need convincing, as The American pastor TD Jakes said
in the ward with the highest life level of economic inequality. Clearly, some people do, of the reality of that pain is a gift to draw attention
expectancy. That is a shocking there are complex issues at play deprivation in the UK today reading to a problem we have failed to
statistic. You have probably been and a response to our first article ‘Breadline Britain’ by Stewart notice.
hearing worries expressed by health in December correctly pointed out Lansley and Joanna Mack* should l Stewart Lansley will be speaking
watchdogs about the increasing that association is not the same as open your eyes. in Swindon on Thursday 30 March,
levels of obesity across the nation. causation. Nevertheless, the link is Given proposed changes to the 7pm at the Baptist Church Hall in
Swindon is slightly better placed coherent and compelling. structure of the health region to Gorse hill.
than many other towns and cities Two things that we do to improve which Swindon belongs, another Spirit of Swindon has emerged
yet almost 70% of adults here are our wellbeing are to eat more ‘one thing’ you might do to from a gathering of people who
considered overweight and fewer healthily and exercise. However, our engage with issues of inequality - want to raise consciousness of the
than 60% of us are sufficiently ability to make these choices will be which will affect you - will be to impact of economic inequality and
physically active to positively limited by income and opportunity. contribute to the debate. Where help Swindon offer a lead to other
impact our health. The implications Having previously raised the issue of there are opportunities to ‘Sustain towns and cities in the UK.
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