Workloads and confidence are improving in the South West's construction sector but businesses remain frustrated by a lack of investment in essential transport infrastructure.
That's according to Rhian Kelly, the CBI's director for business environment, who met businesses in Exeter to discuss issues including green jobs and energy costs. Speaking to the Echo after addressing a meeting hosted by law firm Stephens Scown, she pointed to figures showing the construction sector picking up nationally after five years in the doldrums.
"There's been about £5.7bn of new contracts awarded across the UK in October and the South West took eight per cent of these, so the bounce isn't just a London and South East pick-up – it's also affecting people down here," said Rhian.
"One thing everyone would say in the sector is even if there's a pick-up we're still well below pre-recession levels, so there's a long way to go. But things are looking up, people are feeling more positive and there's no sense that this is a one-off and we will be back into a dip. With construction in particular, we see it as slow and steady rather than rising sharply."
While expressing cautious optimism about the economic recovery, she added that worries remained that it is consumer-led rather than being driven by business investment and exports.
Another key concern for businesses in the South West is the need for more investment in roads, railways and broadband.
"Our annual infrastructure survey shows South West businesses are most pessimistic in the country about the state of the motorways and local roads, and that 35 per cent felt that inter-city rail services had deteriorated in the last five years," said Rhian.
"We've been arguing for upgrading the A303 for a long time. One of the challenges for our members in this region is there's a lot of rhetoric but nothing seems to be happening.
"The problem is the Government has announced it on a long list of projects, but then you have to do a feasibility study which takes time, then there might be an election and the truth is these projects may still be on hold in three or four years' time. We need Government to move quicker. This point around delivery comes up time and time again in terms of infrastructure."
She added: "Broadband is just as crucial as roads and rail. We are trying to say to Government don't underestimate the power of broadband to businesses across all sectors."
Welcoming progress on developments in the Exeter and East Devon Growth Point, Rhian stressed the need for "more innovative public-private partnerships" in future to finance regeneration schemes in a world of reduced grant funding.
Highlighting Blur Group's recent decision to move its global headquarters to Exeter, Andrew Jenkins, the CBI's South West director, said: "In terms of the Science Park and Exeter's reputation and development, attracting the right businesses to say Exeter's a happening city becomes a kind of self-sustaining snowball effect.
"You're very fortunate within this part of the world to have wonderful countryside, scenery and opportunities for lifestyle. If you can match that with business infrastructure and a business community that gives you those growth opportunities at the same time, then it's the perfect mix to really drive economic growth around this particular region."
On the hot topic of energy bills, Rhian said: "All the feedback we've had is that whilst from a business perspective we don't think price freezes are the right policy solution, what Ed Miliband has done is open up a conversation about costs of energy and that in itself is quite helpful. We do need to have that conversation and understand what bills are made up of and be honest about why all the evidence suggests bills are going to keep going up and what we can do to manage that and support the most vulnerable, and how we should all be using energy more efficiently."
Whilst welcoming a Government compensation package to help the UK's most energy intensive industries remain competitive, she argued such measures needed to be agreed at a European level.
As a result, the CBI's position in the event of a referendum on EU membership is that the UK should remain in the union but with reform.
"Energy and climate change is one example where it's better to be working together than independently, and we have more clout internationally if we're part of the EU than if we're not," said Rhian. "More broadly, the market is so significant we wouldn't want to not be part of it, and the market is our springboard into international markets and therefore it makes absolute sense to be part of the EU and then use the EU to access emerging economies."
