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.