1 / 18

West London London Enterprise Panel 5 th December 2012

West London London Enterprise Panel 5 th December 2012. West London: Basic Facts. West London is a major economy in its own right and an economically distinctive region of London. Population of over 1.8m 800,000 + employees Nearly 82,000 businesses

allen-hays
Download Presentation

West London London Enterprise Panel 5 th December 2012

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. West London London Enterprise Panel 5th December 2012

  2. West London: Basic Facts • West London is a major economy in its own right and an economically distinctive region of London. • Population of over 1.8m • 800,000 + employees • Nearly 82,000 businesses • Europe’s largest industrial park at Park Royal • The country’s largest single employment location outside central London at Heathrow • Bigger than Britain’s ‘second’ city – Birmingham • An economy said to be larger than that of Frankfurt

  3. Transport & Business Infrastructure • The transport infrastructure connecting West London to the UK and internationally is a major strength and has been a key driver for inward investment and job creation. • Further investment (CrossRail/HS2/etc.) is likely to enhance West London’s competitiveness • There are major development sites and opportunity areas in West London with the capacity to provide for new investment and an estimated 78,000 new jobs • Confidence is sufficient in many areas for developers to continue to invest and develop – Park Royal, Wembley and White City to offer just a few examples

  4. Title • Text

  5. West London has strengths in modern, new and growing economic sectors – particularly in creative and media, bio-technology, food manufacture, information technology and logistics • Its home to the national or international offices of leading companies such as GSK, Sky, Coca Cola, Diageo and Cisco • The science and technology base in West London is world class and growing – Brunel, Imperial College, Westminster University have a strong and growing base in West London and there is important private R&D investment too

  6. Jobs & Economy • West London is an entrepreneurial economy with high rates of new business formation • West London has a higher rate of self-employment than the rest of London and the other Regions. • West London economy performed relatively well compared to London and the other regions through the economic downturn demonstrating the vitality and resilience of the economy • Over the last 12 months West London has had a higher rate of job vacancies than the rest of London  

  7. Between 2008 and 2011 (pre- and post recession) there has been a slight increase in the number of jobs in West London compared to a slight decline for the rest of London and almost all other regions. • West London has a relatively skilled workforce compared with other regions. Generally, the West London working age population is highly qualified • There is a lower proportion of the working age population with absolutely no qualifications than the rest of London and most other Regions. • And in West London there are better school leaving attainment levels than the rest of London and most other Regions.

  8. Challenges and Opportunities

  9. Major infrastructure linkages to West London are an attractor – but movement in West London is problematic particularly north – south (Orbital) connectivity and more needs to be done to improve this than is currently programmed in TfL’s investment plans • The need for better connectivity is evident across the sub-region whether by bus, rail or new and innovative modes • The prospect of CrossRail’s completion should attract significant new job creating development to some areas in West London • Investment is required to leverage that opportunity and translate it into economic growth

  10. LEP support would be welcome in ensuring that residential development attracted by CrossRail does not erode employment land and therefore job opportunities • HS2 presents a huge opportunity to improve north-south connectivity through the new transport hub at Old Oak Common with rail links to all points of the compass. It would also release a major new site for housing and employment development. • Some West London councils have serious concerns about the environmental and social impacts of HS2 • Advance infrastructure is needed to release the employment and new housing potential for some of our major investment sites

  11. West London has always been an attractive location for inward investors and to leverage that to the maximum a seamless service for investors is required. • A ‘concierge service’ in West London tailored to the needs of individual investors should be considered, working through local councils and their partners • On-going monitoring and research is needed to develop the right response to employer’s needs for their workforce • For instance, there is evidence that employers are requiring NVQ Level 4 qualifications but West London has a slightly lower proportion of the working age population than London qualified at NVQ4+

  12. There is a need to work closely with West London employers to ensure that the skills and aptitudes needed of employees by them are met in West London • There should be a local and fine grained approach to working with colleges, universities, training organisation and employers to ensure that these future needs are met • Notwithstanding its comparative resilience to the economic downturn there were 44,000 JSA claimants in West London in October 2012 and 142,000 working age benefit claimants in February 2012 • The councils are seriously concerned about the impacts of welfare reform on employed and workless working age households

  13. There is a need to develop programmes aimed at supporting the lower paid households in West London and preventing homelessness and sections of the workforce having to relocate out of West London - to their detriment and that of employers • Employment and skills providers including those providing the Work Programme, Apprenticeship Training Agencies and colleges should provide high quality and flexible services. • There is evidence that this is not always the case and there is a need for more local collective action to monitor performance and agree action plans for improvement

  14. The rates of small business formation are higher than the region average but ‘death rates’ are also higher • Whilst web based advice for start-up and existing SMEs is valuable to really support business formation and growth face to face and tailored support is essential • West London has strong international trade and investment links; the learning from the Gateway Asia programme has underlined that with additional support and facilitation much more can be achieved by businesses in accessing new and emerging markets • We need work with the LEP and Universities to understand how we can lever the benefit of their science and technology investment in West London

  15. Where resources are available from GLA/ Government/Europe to help realise the growth opportunities in West London they should be allocated in as simple and straightforward process as possible and in a timely manner without unnecessary delays. • With regard to the previous Growth Fund bidding round what is the position? • Councils spent much time and resources bidding for important schemes but still wait an outcome

  16. To facilitate more joined up funding we would support the GLA being the managing authority for the 2014-2020 ERDF Programme and for the LEP to consider how that funding can be matched at source so that access is easier and projects important to London can be commissioned in a better and more targeted way than hitherto • Indeed with think it would be better if the various funding streams (Get Britain Building, Growth Fund, ERDF, ESF, etc.) were managed together by the GLA/LEP on a commissioning basis and in partnership with sub-regional groupings.

  17. Views amongst stakeholders in West London are divided on the issue of the third runway at Heathrow • But if the Mayor is to continue to argue for a Thames Estuary Hub Airport then he and the LEP should be putting equal effort into modelling and considering the substantial impacts this could have on the West London economy and employment and the investment and other measures necessary to maintain the vitality of the West London economy if a decision to build a new Hub elsewhere were to be made • This work should involve West London stakeholders

  18. Conclusion • Our overall message is that West London is open for business and ready for investment. • If the objective is to accelerate the rate of investment, business growth and job creation in London and see results as soon as possible then West London represents one of the best opportunities for the Mayor and the LEP • We are keen to work with the Mayor and the LEP in achieving this ambition

More Related