THE Western Gateway Partnership says its new website and brand is vital to its mission to bring new investment to South Wales and the West of England.

The pan-regional partnership, which covers an area stretching 150 miles from St Davids in Pembrokeshire to Swindon and Salisbury in Wiltshire with a combined economy of £129 billion, has worked with Chippenham creative agency Milk & Tweed to update its brand and build a new website.

The regional organisation said it needed a brand and website that reflected its ambition for the region and showcases its potential as a place to do business.

“We have a strong network of relationships with businesses and organisations across the region and we now have a website that reflects its potential” said Communications Officer Fiona Williams who worked closely with the agency, which specialises in in website, brand and logo design and digital marketing.

“We needed a website that gives people a sense of how vast and beautiful the area is but also that it’s a great place to live and do business  and with the help of Milk & Tweed, we have that now. It shows we are an innovative region with immense potential.”

The Western Gateway Partnership is made up of local leaders representing 4.8 million people as well as independent business representatives and economic development leaders. The Western Gateway promotes the South Wales and Western England and works strategically with business, academia and local, regional and national government to enable investment in areas including green energy, connectivity and cyber & technology..

Ms Williams said Milk & Tweed impressed the partnership with its grasp of the brief. “We work with local businesses where we can. Milk and Tweed understood our organisation and what outcomes we were aiming for.” she said. “They kept us informed of  the process , what they were working on and guided us through the project.”

The organisation’s distinctive ‘G’ logo has been refreshed and the website given a clean, intuitive feel. “Milk & Tweed took inspiration for the design from the Prince of Wales bridge, which connects South Wales and Western England,” she said.

“It’s a key image for us as part of our strong brand identity and it emphasises collaboration and bringing together these two regions. The bridge element is  indicative of that.”

The new website showcases Western Gateway’s projects and partnerships in digital technology, renewable energy and communications. The site has a tool that maps hydrogen energy across the region and a downloadable library of research to encourage and inform potential investors.

“We did some research recently to get a picture of our economic landscape and found that businesses in our region, on average, miss out on between £3 million and £9 million worth of  investment. It shows, despite its potential, the Western Gateway region is under-invested compared to other areas across the country,” said Miss Williams.

“Thanks to this work carried out by Milk & Tweed, we now have a stand out brand and a dynamic and interactive website that shows we are a forward thinking organisation with investible opportunities across our patch

“The Western Gateway is set to be the UK’s fastest growing region outside London over the next five years and whether visitors are looking for information on partnership or the latest sustainable development projects, our website will make it easy to explore that potential.”

Milk & Tweed Creative Director Jake Jeffries said: “Obviously being a business from the South West, and me being born and growing up and still living here, this was a project and an organisation that was close to my heart, as it was for everyone here at Milk & Tweed.

“We are really proud of the project and all of us enjoyed working with the team at Western Gateway. It certainly sounds like an exciting future for the South West and we are really happy and excited to play a part in that.”

See the new website at western-gateway.co.uk and find out more about Milk & Tweed at milkandtweed.com.

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Pictured: The Milk & Tweed team responsible for Western Gateway’s new website and brand, aimed at supporting its mission to bring new investment to South Wales and the West of England