Marine council created to give industry a voice

A new council has been formed to give the South West's burgeoning marine sector a voice in the economy. The Marine South West Council was launched yesterday to replace the business task force that has steered the work of Marine South West for the past seven years to give a forum to all companies and groups in the regional marine industry.

The new team has refocused its work to make it almost exclusively marine businesses, with continuing support from the South West Regional Development Agency (SWRDA) and Government Office South West (GOSW).

Adam Corney, the executive director of Marine South West, welcomed the new team and the fresh approach to the sector. He said: "The new Marine South West Council will be the voice of the marine industry to local Government.

"This will be vital in maintaining our position as one of the region's priority sectors.

"I am delighted that representatives of important marine businesses have agreed to attend and have their opinions heard on vital matters of policy.

"If Marine South West to assist in increasing the contribution of the marine sector to the regional economy, we need to strengthen the dialogue with business leaders, and the council is the ideal forum for that.

"We have examples of national best practice here in the South West marine industry, some of them well known and other less so.

"We need to build on our successes to cement the long-term prosperity of the industry."

The team now comprises: Heath Pettifer, of Amicus; Peter Middleton, of Atlantis Marine Power; Jonathan Howe, of BMF Wessex; Josh Flavell, of Boatshed; Ed Gilliver, of Chesil Marine Network; Alan Shepherd, of Cornwall Marine Network; Peter Whitehouse, of DML (Babcock Marine); Ian Morris, of Government Office South West; Jonno Barrett, of Kudos Software; Tim Gedge, of Lyme Regis School of Boatbuilding; Nick Heyes, of Marine Electronic Services; Mike Gilbert, of Maritime Plymouth; Darren Newton, of Multimarine Composites; Toby Allies, of Pendennis Shipyard; Pip Patterson, of Pip Patterson Marine; Geoff Kemp, of Princess Yachts; Tony Watson, of South Devon Marine, and Graham Harrison, of SWRDA.

The group will meet three times a year, in Plymouth, Poole and Falmouth, and will aim to influence SWRDA and other public sector agencies in their policy-making that affects the marine businesses. This is likely to include areas such as innovation, technology transfer, waterside planning strategy, funding and legislation.

Graham Harrison, head of sector development at SWRDA, said: "It is vital for Plymouth and the South West's marine industry to stay ahead of the competition.

"We want to encourage the growth of businesses in the marine sector and help to champion the excellent work being done in this area.

"We are delighted to be a key partner in the Marine South West Council, which will give the marine industry a strong voice in the partnership to improve the productivity and competitiveness of the sector."