The South West is a place where innovation is a byword. The ancient monument of Stonehenge is a world heritage site, but when it was built about 5,000 years ago it was a technological miracle, and even today it has engineers arguing over how such a feat could have been completed. Throughout history the region has brought forward the innovators of the age; people like Richard Trevithick, who along with Robert Louis Stevenson brought railways to the world; people like Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an extraordinary and visionary engineer, who brought us metal bridges, suspension bridges and metal ships; Charles Babbage, the father of the computer; and James Dyson, who rewrote the rule books in the design of vacuum cleaners.

The Eden Project in Cornwall is an example of innovative design and concept for the new millennium. A former china clay pit near the town of St Austell has been turned into the home of the world’s largest greenhouse. In a crater some 200 feet deep, covering an area of 30 football pitches, plants from all over the world are housed in huge geodesic domes to create a majestic rainforest, an arid desert and a Mediterranean climate. Within six months of its opening it had attracted a million visitors, and is being hailed as the eighth wonder of the world.

Throughout the region today there are emerging new designs and technology from the huge research and development infrastructure surrounding the region’s universities and centres of higher education. It is this expertise which has brought so many of the world’s leading companies to the South West, so they can tap into this vast pool of innovation and brilliance.

The University of Bath and the University of Bristol were both in the Financial Times newspaper’s top ten list of UK universities in 2001. New developments include the Peninsula Medical School at Plymouth University and the brand-new Combined Universities in Cornwall.

The South West is also home to a number of internationally significant research institutions covering nuclear power, biotechnology, aeronautics, food and drink, water technology and mining. These include the Centre for Applied Microbiological Research (CAMR) which has 40 years experience in microbiological research and the study of infectious disease, and Plymouth Marine Laboratory which does work for NASA. In fact the region is an international centre of excellence in the understanding of the marine environment with around 70 per cent of the UK’s marine biologists and 50 per cent of oceanographers located here.

The South West is a place of outstanding natural beauty. It has the longest coastline of any English region – some 700 miles – and nowhere in the region is more than 50 miles from the sea. With the coastline such a major factor it is inevitable that it provides one of the principal economic focal points. Bristol is one of the UK's largest commercial ports, while Plymouth is the UK's largest naval base.

The region contains the vast national parks of the Cotswolds, Dartmoor and Exmoor, world heritage sites like Stonehenge, and a wealth of history in cities such as Bath. In all it is the region with the highest quality of life.

Inevitably the South West of England is a major tourist venue. It attracts in excess of 40 million visitors a year, with more British tourists visiting the South West than any other region outside London. It is also a region much appreciated by American tourists who come both to discover their roots and to experience some of the most breath-taking vistas in the British Isles.

But it is industry which drives a region forward, and the major force to create and sustain jobs here is the South West of England Regional Development Agency. Set up in 1999 the Agency is charged with improving the competitive position of the South West of England within the European Union and throughout the world in order to ensure increased and sustainable prosperity for the region and its people.

Business competitiveness is being increased by focusing on business sectors with the greatest potential, ensuring high quality business support and creating a 'learning culture' for people and businesses.

The overall workforce in the South West totals some 2.4 million and is amongst the most highly qualified in the UK. Aerospace, marine, automotive, pharmaceutical, biotechnology, ICT, and environmental sectors all have strong presence in the region, with financial services, real estate and business services also contributing significantly to the economy.

Although the South West has all these benefits of location, expertise and innovation the region is still within easy reach of major European destinations. It is served by airports at Bristol, Bournemouth, Exeter, Plymouth and Newquay, with daily air services to London and other major cities. There is a regular sea ferry service to France and Spain, and the M5 and M4 motorways, together with the rail network, provide easy access to all parts of the UK.

Website: www.southwestrda.org.uk