Yeovil Chamber President attends PLG meeting

Released On 1st Feb 2022

On 26th January, Yeovil Chamber President, Dave Woan, attended another meeting of The Place Leadership Group (PLG), which continues to gather regional and national interest, and momentum. The 26th January meeting was a milestone, attended by the now regular twenty plus business and local government leaders, and marked by the attendance of regional economic development managers from the CBI Bristol-based Business West and the CBI who recognise that something is happening in Yeovil. 

The PLG was formed in March 2020, to leverage what we have here in Yeovil and out across South Somerset and West Dorset. With funding from SSDC, and the assistance of external consultants, the PLG now consists of the Senior Management figures from the Innovation, Aerospace, Manufacturing, and Healthcare sectors. Yeovil College is also a key participant, acting as an anchor for the group, via its employment hub; aligning their vocational and academic curriculum with employment requirements across the PLG area of influence. The PLG also partners with County and District Councils as well as Yeovil Town Council.

As a spin-off from the PLG there is also the NextGen group networking graduate apprentices and trainees from across healthcare, aerospace, and the professional sectors, to engage our fledgling professionals with the people who make change, in order to give them reasons and facilities to make Yeovil their long-term base, and to take part in it’s economic future.

President Dave Woan said: “The PLG is key to securing a long-term economic future for South Somerset and West Dorset and with Yeovil as a focus, being a hubs for innovation, across manufacturing, aerospace and healthcare. The PLG is countering the lack of a University in Yeovil, by ‘leveraging’ what we do here to create and deliver employment, attract investment, and secure a long-term future for Yeovil and its’ growing sphere of economic influence.

Many of our key players and private investment across the patch has come in from outside; people are arriving to live work and settle here, because of what we have to offer here. I’m proud to have been part of the initial dialogue which formed the PLG and will continue to ensure Yeovil Chamber plays its part. This evening Sara Tomley from the CBI, and Matt Tudge of Business West, both spoke about how what they do is ready to support the PLG, which demonstrates that our PLG message is getting out there; so yes, I’m extremely excited about what the PLG will deliver, and how its’ presence will benefit the Yeovil business community.”