Proud Traditions

Oh dear! It looks like we have upset Bristol by the pride we are showing in our own skilled people!

Bristol is a proud and successful city known as much for its sea faring exploits as for the aerospace industry it harbours.

But here in Wolverhampton we also have a proud and illustrious traditions in engineering and manufacturing following the industrial revolution of which this area was at the very heart of !

Obviously we do not want to enter a war of words with Bristol. But it is a fact that Wolverhampton is very proud of its precision engineering and the growing reputation of its aerospace industry. All we ever wanted to do was to Speak Up and Speak Out about Wolverhampton and the skills of our work force and the self esteem that we have in them! Placing signs at the City Boundary that salutes these skills really should not been seen as anything more than a sign post of our pride!

I am however proud that the City is raising its profile not only across this region but across the nation, this debate about the pride of our workforce kind of enhances Wolverhampton's growing reputation of a city on the move.

Here is what the Bristol Evening Post printed

Wolverhampton - which has RAF Cosford, a training centre for the air force during the Second World War and now home to an aviation museum - wants to put The Home of Aerospace on its civic signs at the gateways to the city if it wins the race for a multi- billion pound contract to create the Ministry of Defence's new Centre of Excellence.

However, its claim on the title has been derided as "pompous and pretentious" by Filton councillor Roger Hutchinson, who argues Bristol remains the true Home of Aerospace because of its proven aviation heritage as the birthplace of Concorde.

Wolverhampton's site at RAF Cosford is bidding head-to-head against St Athan in South Wales for what would be a major accolade to go alongside its current aviation-based industries, which include Smiths, Goodrich and HS Marston.

Wolverhampton's mayor, Phil Bateman, boasted that if it wins the prize it will "undoubtedly" make it the Home of Aerospace.

He said: "We are already leading the way with Boeing's ongoing projects at Smiths Aerospace, and we are trying to build on that. If the plans for RAF Cosford go ahead then Wolverhampton will undoubtedly be the home of aerospace. We are extremely excited about this."

It could create 2,000 new jobs and attract other aerospace companies to invest in the site.

Wolverhampton's shadow economic chief Wendy Thompson said rebranding itself was exciting: "It would involve rewriting road signs and at the railway stations as well, so it becomes known throughout the country."

The city has even launched its own website, www.letsfly-cosford . com, to promote its prospects and let people register their support.

But Mr Hutchinson said the idea that Wolverhampton could rival Bristol's unchallenged claim to be the Home of Aerospace was simply preposterous.

He said: "Frankly, I'm speechless. They have come on the scene very late.

"We have been building aeroplanes since before they had a football team.

"We build the wings for the Airbus A380 and, quite frankly, they are probably bigger than the entire factory at Wolverhampton.

"We have been designing and building aircraft through the ages, from the biggest, like the Brabazon, to the fastest, like Concorde.

"Apart from that magnificent achievement, we've made rockets, missiles and satellites, and Filton is now facing a massive expansion for the Airbus family of aircraft and Rolls-Royce military engines.

"Filton is already a centre of excellence for both research and design and will remain at the cutting edge of new technology.

"But I do look forward to the day when Wolverhampton does grow up to challenge us."