Tim Davies, head of the South West office of Colliers International, has welcomed the election of Tim Bowles as the West of England Combined Authority Mayor.
He said: “Tim Bowles ran a positive campaign, and in his acceptance speech highlighted that his number one priority will be working closely with the leaders of Bristol, BANES and South Gloucestershire councils.
“This is exactly the sort of approach that will make the role of Metro Mayor a success in the West, and will overcome concerns that the new West of England Combined Authority will be an additional layer of bureaucracy and another Avon County Council in all but name.
“My hope is that Tim Bowles will move beyond politics and will be absolutely focussed upon achieving the best for this region and ensuring the growth of the economy of the West through practical collaboration, motivation and inspiration.
“His style of leadership will be key to achieving this. He will need to be a combination of Alex Ferguson, Bobby Moore and Warren Gatland. However, he will also need to be a good team player, as without collaboration then the initiative will suffer from inertia.
“At Colliers International we are looking forward to working with Tim Bowles in pulling regional stakeholders together and pushing the West of England agenda forward. His professional experience in developing business for an events management company means he will be extremely well placed to promote our region nationally and internationally, something all the more important as we begin to plan for the post Brexit environment.
“As commercial property specialists we are very much aware of the how infrastructure is key to improving access in the region and driving prosperity, so we welcome his manifesto commitment to improving infrastructure in the West – notably the Avon Ring Road, the M4 Junction 18a and the A36/A46 link.
“We also applaud his commitment to easing pressure for green field development and to seeking out Brownfield sites. These sites cost more to develop, but regeneration of Brownfield sites can be an important part of the regeneration of the communities in which they are located and can help to boost the wider economy of the West.”
