They have centuries of history and tradition and often powerful local affiliation but, for a variety of reasons, counties have been overlooked as place players and important economic entities within UK plc.
Cities are seen as the big hitters, as the regional centres of population and leading drivers of economic activity, leaving their more rurally dominated counterparts in the shade.
To some, the “Shires” are something of a nostalgic throwback to a past age, relevant today only to local government and the County Cricket Championship.
But now at a time when we desperately need economic growth to combat the cost of living challenge and to compete internationally like never before, counties are coming to the fore as places in their own right.
There are many reasons for this. One is that some places simply don’t have cities. Without a prominent role for counties, how do you make the best case for places that have identity, assets and opportunity, but not the critical mass of a single, major urban centre of population?
Coronavirus has also shifted some of the emphasis away from cities, as people look to work from home or in more local centres whilst pursuing their rural dream.
There are some outstanding examples of counties that have embraced the importance of a place-led approach and unlocked their brand equity.
Yorkshire has established a powerful and internationally admired place brand, especially as a visitor destination helped by championing, often via its natural assets, why it is simply a great place to be.
Now we’re finding that more counties are discovering, or re-discovering, their sense of place.
As the UK’s leading place specialist, we’ve worked with or are currently working with, an increasing number of counties to develop a fresh, forward-looking narrative for their place to attract investment, visitors, talent and devolved powers from Government.
By being place-led, counties are able to exert influence that makes the sum greater than the constituent parts. Hampshire, is a case in point.
Hampshire encompasses two coastal cities, Portsmouth and Southampton, but when driving through it you would be forgiven for thinking the rest was trees and countryside. However, that rurality contains significant businesses and brands in fields such as defence, aerospace and financial services, along with world-leading R&D, with key players such as BAE, IBM, Zurich, Gulfstream, Airbus and many more. Without an overarching county proposition these vital UK assets will remain largely hidden.
Furthermore, Hampshire in itself is a stamp of quality that is key to the lifestyle offering that is so important to attracting investment and, critically, talent.
Staffordshire was at best a drive through county, not thought about by many, and ignored by the city titans of Manchester and Birmingham on its northern and southern borders.
In the last 18 months it has galvanised its stakeholders, widened place leadership, created an ambassador cohort and walked the walk staging events in their two main cities, promoted investment opportunities at UKREiiF and MIPIM, and held a high-profile visitor economy event with MPs at Westminster.
Counties have been the sleeping giants of place, but they’re now waking from their slumbers and flexing their muscles.
Counties offer the potential to catalyse collaboration, provide critical mass and create a story that simply isn’t being told, for various key audiences, without in any way suppressing the places within them.
This is all about collaboration. It’s about creating a clear, shared sense of place, identity and purpose for the county that adds value to the places, companies and organisations within it, to the benefit of all.
John Till,
Director
