Revisiting the Past, Planning for the Future
Across three decades, one small agency in Wales was responsible for attracting over £11 billion in investment, equivalent to around £19 billion today. That agency was the Welsh Development Agency (WDA). Despite its controversial end marked by poor leadership and a lack of oversight, the WDA helped shape modern Wales. From attracting major players like Sony, Bosch, and Hoover, to supporting home-grown successes such as Admiral and the National Botanical Gardens, the WDA's legacy still looms large.
As we grapple with economic uncertainty and regional inequality, is it time to ask: how does regional development work today, and what could we learn from the WDA to better shape the future? This blog explores how economic growth strategies have evolved in Wales and how the proposed Invest 2035 vision could bring about a new era of transformation.
A Tale of Two Approaches: The WDA and What Followed
From 1976 to 2006, the Welsh Development Agency helped bring billions of pounds in investment and thousands of jobs to Wales. In its prime, it was bold, agile, and commercial hallmarks of a hands-on economic revival model. Since its closure, regional development has taken a more bureaucratic and politically integrated path, more strategic perhaps, but arguably less impactful on the ground.
The WDA was one of several regional development agencies (RDAs) in the UK and Ireland alongside Scottish Enterprise, Invest Northern Ireland, and Enterprise Ireland created to tackle regional economic disparities and drive national prosperity.
Their core functions included: Generating economic growth and jobs Attracting inward investment Supporting local businesses and innovation Developing infrastructure and land Growing skills and workforce potential Addressing regional inequalities Driving long-term strategic planning Leveraging pre-Brexit EU and national funding
Established under the Welsh Development Agency Act of 1975, the WDA aimed to reverse the decline of Wales' ailing economy following the gradual decrease in, coal, steel, and heavy industries due to lack of global competitiveness and better understanding of pollution.
The WDA was created with the following aims: Promoting economic development
Enhancing industrial competitiveness
Creating and safeguarding jobs
Improving the physical environment
But in 2006, the WDA, along with ELWa (Education and Learning Wales) and the Wales Tourist Board was dissolved and absorbed into the Welsh Assembly Government (now the Welsh Government). Since then, various bodies like Invest Wales, the Development Bank of Wales, Business Wales, the four regional growth deals and investment zones have inherited elements of its mission. However, their fragmented nature and disconnected structures have made it difficult to fully track impact.
The Context Then—and Now
By the 1970s, Wales faced an economic crisis. Its reliance on declining heavy industries had led to unemployment, emigration, and stagnation. The WDA's closure decades later came amidst concerns over governance: poor procurement practices, leadership failures, and inadequate oversight. Yet these issues were not insurmountable, they highlight the need for strong leadership and robust accountability in any new arm's-length body.
What's striking is how familiar today's challenges feel. Deindustrialisation's legacy is still affecting Welsh communities, and the need to bring new industries and anchor companies to Wales remains as urgent as ever.
Let's compare the two models we've experienced:
This dual experience offers Wales a unique vantage point: an opportunity to blend what worked with what's needed now.
Lessons from the WDA: What Still Matters Today
The WDA may belong to the past, but the challenges it endeavoured to overcome, economic transition, job creation, and community regeneration are still with us. As we look to the future with strategies like Invest 2035, the new UK industrial strategy, the WDA's history offers vital insights and lessons from the past. Here they are split into two categories of economic development and governance of public bodies.
Economic Development
1. Strategic Autonomy Drives Impact
Success requires freedom to act. The WDA thrived because it had statutory powers and operational independence, allowing it to move quickly and adapt to change. Today's more bureaucratic processes often hinder such agility.
2. Inward Investment Works, but must be balanced
Foreign investment can spark transformation—but not without risks. While companies like Sony and LG brought jobs and profile, many left when conditions changed. A renewed agency must strike a balance between attracting FDI and supporting home-grown enterprises.
3. Place-Based Development Delivers Results
The WDA didn't just write strategies, it changed landscapes. From revitalising Cardiff Bay to restoring valley towns, its work was visible and practical. Today's more remote planning structures often miss this kind of tangible impact.
Governance of Public Bodies
1. Clarity of Purpose is Crucial
A clear, legally defined mandate like the WDA's in 1976 builds legitimacy. But this must be paired with transparency and minimal political interference to maintain focus and effectiveness.
2. Independent Yet Accountable Structures Work Best
The WDA's semi-autonomous model allowed for innovation, but over time, concerns about oversight emerged. The lesson? Independence needs robust scrutiny and accountability, not micromanagement.
3. Merging into Government Dilutes Impact
While integration can reduce duplication, it often stifles innovation, reducing agility and responsiveness.
The Present Challenge: Fragmentation and Confusion
Today, Wales faces a complex web of more than 50 business support and membership bodies focusing on manufacturing and energy alone. each with its own remit, often disconnected from each other. Meanwhile, advisory roles are spread across groups like the Future Generations Commissioner, the National Infrastructure Commission, and the long-standing (but little-known) Wales Investment Development Advisory Panel (WIDAB). WIDAB created under the same Act as the WDA is still operating.
In contrast, Scotland and Ireland have shown the power of unified, one-stop development hubs. A modernised Welsh Development Agency could serve the same purpose: a single gateway for investors to understand land availability, funding, talent, infrastructure, and cultural context all in one place.
What Comes Next?
The new UK Industrial Strategy presents a timely opportunity. A reimagined WDA, let's call it WDA 2.0 (or Menter Cymru?) could combine the best of Wales' past and present approaches to economic development, driving Invest 2035forward.
5 Ways WDA 2.0 Can Deliver Invest 2035:
1. Turn Strategy into Local Action Adapt UK-wide priorities to local Welsh needs
Create tailored regional plans (e.g., green energy in Anglesey)
Link SMEs to national funding streams
2. Act as a One-Stop Investment Hub Market Wales globally in target sectors
Provide ready-made investment packages
De-risk projects with co-investment and infrastructure prep
3. Manage Strategic Sites and Infrastructure Identify and prepare high-potential industrial land
Accelerate planning and utilities coordination
Lead redevelopment in priority zones
4. Support Innovation and R&D Build public–private–academic partnerships, develop close relationships with our universities
Grow clusters in agri-tech, advanced manufacturing, and AI
Provide support services—skills, incubation, funding access
5. Ensure Accountability and Regional Balance Track results by region: jobs, emissions, investment
Prioritise equitable distribution beyond southeast Wales
Report transparently to government and citizens
Final Thoughts: WDA 2.0
As Wales approaches another pre-election cycle, voters and businesses alike will ask: how will economic growth be delivered in my community? Where are the jobs? How do we attract the infrastructure and companies we need?
It may be time for a new age of regional development in Wales, one where we take the best bits of both the independent and government led models and ditch the bad, one that's independent but accountable, place-based but globally minded, rooted in Welsh values but fit for a digital, green, innovation-driven world.
If we're serious about shaping a prosperous future for Wales, we need more than just ambition—we need the right tools. A revitalised and modernised WDA could be one of them. Is it time to get started?
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