At a recent meeting of the Norfolk Chamber’s Planning & Development Group, a discussion was held with Norfolk’s local authorities and New Anglia LEP, on how to better promote Norfolk to developers and inward investors from both within the UK and overseas. Recent improvements to infrastructure such as the A11 and the real signs of recovery in the economy, make now the ideal time to undertake a coordinated marketing campaign to really promote and push the benefits of the region.
Existing initiatives such as the East of England Energy Zone; Norwich Research Park; to name but a few are starting to gather momentum. There is also the exciting prospect of a City Deal for Norwich. Norfolk is also leading the way on a low carbon economy, being an energy exporter as well as being a key player in the future delivery of offshore renewables. Norfolk and Norwich also has some fantastic cultural offerings, such as the Norfolk & Norwich Festival, the historic city centre and the Norfolk Broads. Norwich has a strong retail centre, not only providing for the needs of the city, but also providing an attractive shopping destination for visitors from further afield.
Unlike Manchester and Birmingham, who have successfully marketed themselves and their outlying locales on the national and international stages, Norfolk does do not have just one central focal point – we need to be a lot more visible as a county. The region needs to have a strong Brand that everybody of all ages can get behind and believe. Each of the local authorities currently has a very restricted budget for economic development and it is therefore essential that the region gets the best value for money out of these resources. Norfolk has a lot to offer and we need to have a united, credible message to do this.
The group went on to discuss what that Brand should be. Does Norfolk have a large enough offering on its own or should the Brand be across both Norfolk and Suffolk, thereby widening the opportunities? If this approach was used, then ‘New Anglia’ could be the Brand – however it was felt that this would need a very clear marketing message to ensure the Brand was recognisable.
The group also acknowledged the need to ensure that existing Norfolk based businesses were fully supported by a robust customer care programme. The existing business community is just as important to the economic growth of Norfolk, as attracting new inward investment.
An opportunity for Norfolk to put itself on the map, would be to attend a large international trade fair/exhibition i.e. MIPIM, which is an annual property exhibition that is held every year in Cannes and attracts worldwide interest from developers and investors. All of the main cities in the UK have stands such as London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Derby, Bristol and the North East to promote themselves. Over the years these have changed from individual city stands to being more coordinated approaches from regions, often promoted by the LEP supported by local businesses.
The whole of the Eastern Region is currently not visible in this arena, meaning that either international investors are either not aware of the opportunities in the region, or potentially worse, they invest in another region in the UK. Costs for an individual company or organisation to take a stand at one of these events can often be high, so a joint stand approach between Norfolk, Suffolk and even potentially Cambridge could be a more viable option. A logical facilitator for this could be the New Anglia LEP, who has the cross-county reach and may have access to possible funding for such a project.
Jonathan Cage, chair of the Planning & Development Group said “Norfolk needs to be ready to take advantage of any and all opportunities. A unified approach across the county would help put Norfolk on the map and give potential investors confidence to bring their business to Norfolk, targeting an event such as MIPIM would give the region something to go for and would pull together public and private sector expertise and resources to really put the County on the global map.”
