UNIVERSITY leaders have unveiled a new report revealing how the South West is now the fastest-growing region in the UK for the Creative Industries.

Representatives from the six higher education institutions in the region, including the University of Exeter, attended the House of Commons this week to launch the report, entitled ‘Creative Industries in the Great South West: Leading from the Edge’.

Thanks to new research, the report details how the Great South West is outpacing even London with a remarkable 4.1 per cent compound annual growth rate, generating £2.7 billion in annual GVA (gross value added) through more than 15,870 creative businesses, 35,000 employees, and an estimated 40,000 freelancers.

University leaders say this robust data could be transformative for the way the region is perceived on a national stage, and could place the Creative Industries on a similar footing to other acknowledged sectors of strength such as marine science and technology, renewable energy, agriculture, aerospace, digital innovation, and environmental science and conservation.

‘The Great South West isn’t just the UK’s fastest-growing creative region, we’re proving that world-class innovation can thrive beyond London and other major metropolitan cities,’ said Dom Jinks, Head of Creative Industries at the University of Exeter.

‘With every creative job generating 1.9 additional jobs across adjacent industries, we are not just building a creative economy, we are catalysing the future of cross-sector innovation’, Do added.

The event in Westminster was hosted by Jayne Kirkham, MP for Truro and Falmouth, and organised by Professor Emma Hunt, Vice-Chancellor of Falmouth, in her capacity as Chair of the Great South West’s Higher Education Working Group.

It was designed to showcase the strengths of the emerging consortia and their industry partners across Devon, Cornwall and Dorset.

The six universities that released the report are the University of Exeter, Arts University Bournemouth, Arts University Plymouth, Bournemouth University, Falmouth University, and the University of Plymouth, working in collaboration with the Great South West Pan-Regional Partnership.

It was created by research consultants Joanne Evans, Miriam Quick and Fiona Waters, and can be accessed on the Falmouth University website.