Responding to George Osborne’s announcement of his devolution plan for England’s big cities, Jeremy Richards, head of the Bristol office of JLL, said:
“With an elected mayoral model already in place, Bristol is in a strong position to move towards greater autonomy. Cities are and will always be the principal contributors to the UK economy and currently account for 58% of the jobs, 60% of the economy and 72% of highly skilled workers.
“This is likely to become more intense as the sectors that will drive the economic recovery are particularly likely to congregate in city centres; Bristol, for example, is already home to a thriving tech cluster and strong professional services base.
“The opportunities presented by devolution will offer cities the ability to focus on local infrastructure and recognise those areas that need investment to generate economic growth. Bristol has already proved itself to be a city punching above its weight and increased powers would help propel it towards greater prosperity.”
