Alongside our face-to-face meetings and roundtables, we have online lunchtime briefings for our members to attend whilst they’re munching their sarnies.
Victoria Matthews, our Initiative Manager, kicked off by giving us a whistlestop overview of new and ongoing projects, climate action activities, and of course welcoming our new members including Triodos Bank, St Paul’s Carnival and AHMM. Most current issues included:
Michael Gove’s Levelling Up White Paper: you can read Matt Griffith’s insights on this on twitter
Bristol’s Clean Air Zone: there’s a free CAZ briefing on the 8th Feb you can attend
A37/A4018 Bus Route 2 Consultation Submission
E-bike scheme launching in partnership with Big Issue
Next, we learned about the South West’s Nuclear Fusion Bid to be the home for the UK’s first fusion energy plant from Business West Innovation Manager Andy Bates. The bid needs our support. We’re down to the last five locations and there are thousands of jobs to play for, as well as the chance to REALLY help accelerate the nation’s race to net-zero..
We then were deLIGHTed to hear from Vicky Lee, Bristol City Centre BID Manager, about the upcoming Bristol Light Festival 1-6 March 2022. We were given an exclusive peek of the highlights to expect and I’m really looking forward to the event of the year to mark hopefully the end of the dark times we’ve all been living through.
Naomi Miller, Deputy Director of Bristol Ideas told us of their fabulous line-up of festivals for 2022 and also their work to provide neutral space to discuss and debate the upcoming Referendum in Bristol. I’ve blogged about it as part of their series on how we could turn it into an opportunity to do better from a personal business perspective. You’ll find other referendum views on the Bristol Ideas site too, from:
Simon Cook: Would a Committee System Work Better?
Estella Tincknell: Changing Bristol’s Governance is a Distraction
Clive Stevens: Is it too late to create a mayoral model that works for Bristol?
Paul Smith: Mayor vs Committee: Which System Delivers?
Former Mayor George Ferguson: Mayor of Bristol – What’s the Point?
It is really good that there is a neutral space to discuss the complex leadership challenges facing our city. Thank you Bristol Ideas!
Finally, we had Policy Analyst of Business West Georgina Navalles give us the update on the latest Quarterly Economic Survey. The survey plays a vital role in allowing Business West to represent our views back to policymakers. The video will be made available in a few days.
This was an “espresso shot” briefing to help our members stay connected with city- and region-wide issues. But the next face-to-face Mochaccinno-dose Initiative Meeting will be on the 9th March, hosted by the South Bristol Skills Academy. Hope to see you there!
Thanks to Kathryn Binnie and Mark Gollop for a flawless managed online event.