Community

Jason Hones is the former Regional Director for National Highways.

SWIP is the community that links everyone together, to resolve our own issues and set a SW course within a national infrastructure context.

Paul Santer is the Regional Director of the Civil Engineering Contractors Association CECA.

Academics, clients, civil engineering consultants and contractors collectively assess the potential infrastructure challenges and opportunities facing the South West and provide answers which are deliverable and realistic. SWIP is leading the charge in recommending adaptation strategies and resilience measures to combat climate change and carbon emissions whilst embracing new technologies and digital tools to help catapult these ideas into a workable plan. SWIP is not a talking shop, it is a catalyst and force for delivering infrastructure which will help to grow the regional economy and improve the lives of South West people.

Paul Smith is the former Managing Director of Business West.

Stepping down after 30 years helping shape and support the South West regional economy, I am going to miss many of the external roles that comes with being Business West MD, but none more so than my role with the South West Infrastructure Partnership (SWIP). Whereas much of my work, in both public and private sectors, has been funnelled into specific sectors, places projects or themes, SWIP stands as a very rare South West organisation that, yes focuses on infrastructure, but in doing so it embraces the whole business spectrum of SW civil engineering projects, sectors and geographies as well as the region’s environment and nature. Such across the board perspective remains SWIP’s Superpower.

Paula Hewitt is the former Deputy Chief Executive and Lead Director at Somerset County Council, and a former Chair of SWIP

I have been involved with SWIP since its inception, initially representing the Local Government sector and then as Chair of the Steering Group. SWIP was set up by the ICE to encourage collaboration and the sharing of knowledge and experience in relation to infrastructure in the South West. The South West is a large and diverse region and in the early days it was clear that many of the key players delivering and maintaining infrastructure did not have good communication channels to those working in other sectors or different parts of the region. The establishment of SWIP was a great way of addressing this issue and I have witnessed many great cross-sector and cross-geographies exchanges enabled by SWIP which would not otherwise have happened. SWIP has created a safe space for different organisations to come together to address the challenge of climate change, both adaptation and carbon reduction, both for those looking after our existing infrastructure and those developing and delivering infrastructure projects. I feel a great sense of pride in the journey that SWIP has taken and I hope I continue to see it go from strength to strength, supporting infrastructure professionals across our region.

Peter Kydd is a former senior consultant at Parsons Brinckerhoff (now WSP), and former Chair of SWIP.

When SWIP was formed back in 2017, we knew that a single cohesive voice representing the South West infrastructure community was needed. Our focus was to reflect what communities required as the UK transitions to net zero and to ensure that the South West wasn’t left behind when it comes to prioritising infrastructure. The South West is particularly vulnerable to disruption, whether it be from Atlantic storms or the surge of summer tourists but it also has some of the best natural energy resources in the UK. Embracing the transition to net zero was our first priority but with 80% of our current infrastructure being still in use in 30 years time, adaptation to manage the adverse impacts of global warming also became a top priority, coupled with improving the resilience and performance of our regional infrastructure. SWIP has succeeded in bringing together senior infrastructure leaders across the region to break down sector silo’s, and share experiences – good and bad. In my time as Chair, it was particularly gratifying to see so many infrastructure professionals, not just engineers, engage with SWIP and contribute to SWIP’s vision of maximising the opportunities that exist in the South West, from energy generation and electrification, transport integration, delivering net zero, embracing nature based and adaptation solutions, and making the most of our natural resources.