South West England
Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOU : South West England
| South West | |
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| Admin HQ | Bristol/Plymouth |
| Area - Total | 1st in England 23,829 km² |
| Population - Total (2001) - Density | 7th in England 4,928,458 207/km² |
| NUTS 1: | UKK |
South West England is one of the regions of England. It is in the south-west of the United Kingdom, and covers the area known as the West Country and much of the historical area of Wessex, although omitting Hampshire and Berkshire. Although referendums had been planned on whether elected assemblies should be set up in some of the regions, none was planned in the South West.
It was previously divided into just Avon, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, Somerset, and Wiltshire. Since then, Avon has been abolished, and many districts have separated from their original county as unitary authorities.
The South West is largely rural with many small towns and villages, the largest settlements in the South West are Bristol, Swindon, Bournemouth, Exeter, Gloucester, Plymouth and Poole.
South West England is one of the constituencies used for elections to the European Parliament. From the 2004 election onwards, Gibraltar has been included within the region for the purpose of elections to the European parliament only.
There is some controversy over the status of Cornwall. Some consider it to be a nation in its own right. Many others (55% according to a MORI opinion poll) [link] wish to see devolution outside a "Devonwall"/"South West" region. A petition for a Cornish assembly has received over 50,000 signatures. The British Government's position is that Cornwall is a county of England and is far too small to become a region, having around one fifth of the population of the smallest existing region.
The highest point of the region is High Willhays, at 621 metres. It is the highest hill in Dartmoor.
The South West of England is well known for producing Cheddar cheese, named after Cheddar gorge, which is located close to Bristol, and for cider.
Since 2004 the people of Gibraltar, a tiny Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom located in the southern Iberian Peninsula, have participated in elections for the European Parliament as part of the South West England region.
Counties and administrative areas
Ceremonial, or geographic, counties in bold. Shire counties and unitary authorities numbered and listed by the ceremonial county they are within.
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Economy and industry
The most economically productive area within the region is Bristol and the M4 corridor region. Bristol alone accounts for a quarter of the region's economy, and the surrounding areas of South Gloucestershire, North Somerset and North Wiltshire accounting for a further quarter.Eurostat & Office for National Statistics, 2004. "[Portrait of South West England: Economy]." Accessed 2006-04-14. Bristol's economy has historically been built on nautical industries, and the import of tobacco. Since the early 20th century, however, aeronautics have taken over as the bedrock of Bristol's economy, with companies including Airbus, Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace manufacturing in Filton. More recently telecomunications, information technology and electronics have been important industries in Bristol and Swindon.
The region's Gross Value Added breaks down as 69.9% service industry, 28.1% production industry and 2.0% agriculture. This is a slightly higher proportion in production, and lower proportion in services, than the UK average. Agriculture, though in decline, is important in many parts of the region. Dairy farming is especially important in Dorset and Devon, and the region has 1.76 million cattle, second to only one other UK region, and 3,520 square miles (9,110 sq km) of grassland, more than any other region. Only 5.6% of the region's agriculture is arable.
Tourism is important in the region, and in 2001 tourists spent £3,200 million in the region, putting it second only to London. In 2001 the GVA of the hotel industry was £2,200 million, and the region had 13,800 hotels with 250,000 bedspaces. Cornwall in particular relies on tourism. The county has the lowest GVA per head of any county or unitary authority in the country,Office for National Statistics, 2003. "[Top 5 and Bottom 5 GVA per head of population].", contributes only 6.5% of the region's economy, and receives EU Objective One funding.DEFRA, n.d. "[Objective 1 and 2 areas in England]." Around five million people visit the county each year.Cornwall Tourist Board, 2003. [Tourism in Cornwall]. Cornwall's poor economic performance is partly caused by its remoteness and poor transport links, and by the decline of its traditional industries, such as mining, agriculture and fishing.
Counties with multiple districts: Cornwall - Devon - Dorset - Gloucestershire - Somerset - Wiltshire
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External links
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Regions of England: East of England | East Midlands | London | North East | North West | South East | South West | West Midlands | Yorkshire and the Humber
Districts of South West England
Bath and North East Somerset | Bournemouth | Bristol | Caradon | Carrick | Cheltenham | Christchurch | Cotswold | East Devon | East Dorset | Exeter | Forest of Dean | Gloucester | Isles of Scilly | Kennet | Kerrier | Mendip | Mid Devon | North Cornwall | North Devon | North Dorset | North Somerset | North Wiltshire | Penwith | Plymouth | Poole | Purbeck | Restormel | Salisbury | Sedgemoor | South Gloucestershire | South Hams | South Somerset | Stroud | Swindon | Taunton Deane | Teignbridge | Tewkesbury | Torbay | Torridge | West Devon | West Dorset | West Somerset | West Wiltshire | Weymouth and Portland
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