Wales should forego its traditional Celtic ties to Scotland and put its support behind England, at least when it comes to football, according to the results of a survey of Welsh business leaders carried out by property consultancy Bruton Knowles.
Despite a fierce sporting rivalry stretching back further than the career of Ryan Giggs, 63% of people said that they will be supporting England in the upcoming football World Cup in Brazil. At the same time, 98% of survey respondents felt that Wales should resist the urge to follow Scotland’s lead and sever political ties with the UK.
The Cardiff arm of national property consultancy Bruton Knowles conducted the research at the recent Cardiff Property Dinner, where attendees from across the property sector in Wales including house builders, commercial developers, law firms, banks and housing associations were asked their opinions on a range of issues.
Support for the recently announced Cardiff Capital Region was notable, with 83% of respondents agreeing that this will have a positive impact on Wales as a place to do business. However, this positivity seems to hinge on the success of high-profile infrastructure projects that are planned in Wales. Inadequate transport infrastructure was highlighted by 38% of people as the biggest reason deterring businesses from locating in Wales, with excessive red tape (12%) and lack of political support (10%) both lagging a long way behind as the next most popular reasons given.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, improvements to the M4 were seen as the most important infrastructure project planned in Wales, with 56% of business leaders feeling that this was key. Other popular responses included the electrification of the rail line (13%), the Cardiff Metro (9%), and the Severn Barrage (4%).
Anthony Turner, Partner and Team Leader, Bruton Knowles Cardiff says of the survey results: “Whilst the results show that Wales as a country is making positive steps forward with the introduction of the Cardiff City Region, we are still in a vulnerable position. We very much need to push forward with those infrastructure projects in progress, and move quickly with new ones, to satisfy current businesses whilst attracting new ones.”
Asked what factors currently attract businesses to Wales, it was felt that financial incentives (60%) play a huge part in the decision making process, along with the availability of a good work force (13%). It is perhaps not surprising, then, that respondents supported the concept of Enterprise Zones, with 76% saying they are a help to Wales as a business centre. However, only 40% thought the seven Enterprise Zones accurately reflect the skills currently available in Wales, suggesting that there is work required to make the reality match the idea.
Anthony Turner added: “As the mixed results show, there certainly seems to be a lot of positivity for the measures being taken to bring jobs and industry into Wales. If the necessary transport infrastructure is upgraded, the Cardiff City Region can begin to flourish, and the Enterprise Zones concept could yet succeed. With this in mind it highlights why the most one-sided result was seen in the 98% of people that felt it would be the wrong decision for Wales to follow Scotland and push for independence.”