Allan Willett has an ambitious aim - to make Oxfordshire part of one of the top ten economic regions in Europe.

As chairman of the South East England Development Agency, he acknowledges the task will be tough.

He believes the region urgently needs a boost in investment in its economic infrastructure - and has a dire warning if it doesn't happen.

A failure to invest on the part of the Government would have "a cumulative and catastrophic impact" on the region, he said. Without this investment, he warned, many large businesses would vote with their feet - by relocating to other European regions.

Speaking after the launch of the economic strategy for the region, he said: "The gainers will not be other parts of England - our real competitors are the likes of Amsterdam, Paris and Frankfurt."

While Oxfordshire's economy is buoyant with low unemployment and a skilled workforce, he said investment in improving technology, developing skills and assisting start-up businesses remained a priority. The economic make-up of Oxfordshire, with its close-knit clusters of excellence in the motorsport, motoring and biotech industries, has been closely studied by Seeda.

And the county could provide the model on which to structure a strategy for regional success.

Richard Flint, chairman of the Heart of England Training and Enterprise Council, said Seeda's task of raising the performance of the South East economy into one of the top ten regions of Europe was stretching, to say the least.

But he added: "I firmly believe that Oxfordshire will have a strong future, wherever the boundaries for the new small business services and skills councils were drawn. "Encouragingly, many of Seeda's proposed solutions are based on what they have seen happen in Oxfordshire."

Mr Willett blamed "chronic under-investment over many years" for problems such as urban decline and the region's "run-down and inadequate transport network".

He said the current position was "simply not sustainable, either economically or environmentally".

The newly formed agency aims to work in partnership with Government and the private sector to secure investment for the South East to regenerate urban and rural communities, create an integrated region-wide transport network, support business growth and enhance the region's skills base. The regional economic strategy identifies the South East's potential strengths and "grossly under- utilised assets" including its location, its natural environment and - above all - its people.

Mr Willett said the South East played a pivotal role in the national economy.

"Investment in the South East is investment in the country as a whole. In business, if you fail to invest you decline."

The regional strategy - prepared by Seeda after extensive consultation involving 20,000 individuals and organisations across the South East - outlined six strategic priorities: *World class business - provide businesses with the quality support they need to be internationally competitive

*World class learning and workforce - equip the region to create a knowledge-based economy

*World class transport - address the chronic under-investment in the region's road and rail network

*World class environment - promote sustainable development

*World class communities - promote an urban renaissance and address the severe deprivation along the South Coast *World class rural economy - resolve the perceived tension between conservation and economic growth

Mr Willett said: "In the few months we have had to prepare this strategy, people have given a clear answer to those who may have questioned our ability to pull together as a region.

"Business has not stood on the sidelines," he added. "From the CBI and the Institute of Directors to individual companies and entrepreneurs, the agenda for managing our future within a regional context has been enthusiastically grasped."

Story date: Thursday 04 November

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.