The Hillingdon Economy
More than 500 businesses occupy a compact core business area of Uxbridge town centre, in an area roughly 1km by 0.5km. A significant number of offices house UK and European headquarters. A retail space of over one million square feet accommodates national multiples in two covered shopping centres as well as independents in the high street and adjacent roads.
Retail spending in 2004 was tenth highest in Greater London, with 54% derived from people living outside London. The 14 million annual visitors are drawn from a wide catchment that includes Hillingdon, neighbouring boroughs and the substantial office population.
For more information about the economic profile of the London Borough of Hillingdon please contact:
The Economic Partnership Unit, Community Resources Team, Chief Executive's Office, Hillingdon Council, 3E/02 Civic
Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, Middx UB8 1UW. Tel: 01895 277345.
E-mail: hwebster@hillingdon.gov.uk
website: www.hillingdon.gov.uk
West London sub-region
West London possesses a number of unique factors that distinguish its economy from its neighbours and the rest of the UK. These include Heathrow Airport, a significant creative industries sector and some of the biggest blue chip businesses in the world. There is also a significant concentration of employment within the transport and logistics sector, particularly air transport, and excellent road, rail and air links to all parts of Britain.
With a population of almost 1.5 million people West London is a large and diverse economy, which contributes £27 billion to the UK economy and employs almost 750,000 people. One of West LondonÕs key strengths is that it has a diverse, energetic and dynamic population, with some 35% of residents from black and minority ethnic communities. This rich, multi-cultural and international base provides a strong link to international communities and markets. West London contributes approximately 17% of the output of Greater London.
There are a number of key economic drivers in West London:
Heathrow Airport - Employment within air transport grew by 6% per annum between the years 1998 and 2002 - an increase of over 25% during the four year period.
Tourism and the visitor economy - Already a significant contributor to the sub-regional economy, the economic impact of tourism and the visitor economy will grow, with an expected increase of 30 million passengers per annum passing through Heathrow Airport as well as the projected development of the 'Visiting Friends and Relatives' and 'Business Tourism' markets that West London is ideally placed to exploit.
Recreational and cultural activities - The new 90,000 seater, £757m Wembley Stadium development is not only a new iconic sporting venue. The 42 acre area around it will be a sporting, leisure, cultural, accommodation and commercial centre for London, unprecedented in its scale and scope. It demonstrates the importance of the growing leisure and tourism industry in
West London.
The food cluster - With particular concentrations around the Park Royal/Wembley area and Southall.
The creative industries - West London has a strong representation within the creative industries, with TV and radio having a particularly strong representation within the area epitomised by the BBC studios at White City. The digital media and ICT sectors are also strong in West London.
More information on the West London sub-regional economy and the full West London Economic Development Strategy (Dec 2004) can be found on the West London Alliance website (www.westlondonalliance.org) and the West London
Business website (www.westlondon.com ).
