1. Economic Geography, Linkages and Low Carbon Economy Business Geographies and Linkages John McCreadie – 6 th July 2010

2. Presentation Structure Answering the Questions: Where are the main concentrations of employment and how has this changed? What are the broader economic geographies in TWCR? Building on: NERIP Economic Geography of the North East/Durham EG study Emerging DaSTS Evidence Review NLA analysis of Housing Market Development Consultations with Economic Leads and Public Sector Business Survey

3. Locations: Total Employment Employment concentrated in city/urban centres and out of town business and industrial parks Key out of town locations include: Cobalt, Team Valley, Washington, Doxford, Bracken Hill, Gosforth and Riverside locations Clear links between key employment sites and transport corridors e.g. A1 through Tyneside and linking to Washington

4. Total Employment Change Employment increases follow infrastructure corridors i.e. A19, A1, Tyne, Old A1, A694, A189, A690 Key areas of increase include several business/industrial parks: Newcastle Quayside and Council Area, Durham City, Cobalt, Quadras and Boldon, Washington East and Waterview, Bracken Hull Business Park Variable employment performance: Newcastle City Centre and Team Valley

5. Views from the Business Base Location Strengths: Connectivity & accessibility; markets and networks; and workforce and skills Newcastle/Gateshead - central, easily accessible location Area outside urban core – low cost Location Weaknesses: Isolated location; travel / connectivity; road infrastructure No geographical patterns Alternative Locations: Just over half of respondents would remain in Tyne and Wear if not at current location 23% would be in other parts of GB and 16% in County Durham

6. Views from the Business Base Local workforce seen as most important local linkage – above proximity to markets, suppliers and customers Businesses in Newcastle and Durham attract employees from widest geographical area, as well as serving local labour market Other areas tend to recruit from smaller geographical area Businesses tend to have strong links to local suppliers and markets

7. Summary Offering a broader range of locations has helped to capture new investment New lower cost, out of town locations complement traditional commercial centres Newcastle/Gateshead core is a unique asset and offers a prestigious location All districts have captured new investment – mobility of private service sectors

8. Summary Number of locations include both service and industrial employment Manufacturing employment is concentrated in fewer locations – greatest concentration in ‘City Region South’ Low Carbon Economy offers opportunities for manufacturing centres – areas with large waterfront sites, ports, infrastructure, supply chains and R&D assets likely to be at an advantage

9. Economic Geographies ‘City Region North’: Newcastle, Inner Gateshead, North Tyneside, South East Northumberland ‘City Region South’: Sunderland, South Tyneside, parts of County Durham (Easington/Peterlee) ‘City Region West’: West/outer Gateshead, Chester le Steet, Derwentside ‘City Region: Durham City’

10. Economic Geographies ‘City Region North’: Strong urban core (Universities, Financial and Professional Business Services, CDI, tourism & leisure employment growth); Strong out of town locations; Strong suburban housing market – highly qualified workforce; Good transport links to the core; Some areas with employability issues and housing market failure ‘City Region South’: Strong manufacturing base (automotive and other sub-sectors); Growing service sector economy; Substantial employment growth 2000-2008; Challenge to maintain employment in manufacturing and public sector; Much weaker housing market; Employability issues and housing market failure predominantly in urban areas

11. Economic Geographies ‘City Region West’: Considerable overlap with the urban core of Newcastle City Centre and inner Gateshead; Significant Manufacturing and Distribution base; Strong flows into and out of the urban core ‘City Region: Durham City’: Key asset with renowned visitor attraction and University Strong administrative base Potential to grow private service sectors, particularly Tourism and CDI

12. Economic Geographies Geographies should not be viewed in isolation – substantial overlaps and flows within each area Commuting flows have increased since 2001 as new employment locations have developed Links between Sunderland and Newcastle increasing Links between North Tyneside and South Tyneside Greater Connectivity between north and south now seen as priority – concerns about capacity of road network to accommodate further development

13. Summary ‘Four geographies’ have each made contribution to economic growth Relatively strong linkages between the four geographies but degrees of intensity ‘City Region North and Durham’ face similar challenges and opportunities ‘City Region South and West’ are ‘economies in transition’

14. Implications Higher skilled and value added employment the priority: more of the same will not close the productivity gap or deliver the workforce of a competitive economy Agglomeration: Limited evidence to date; important in the future but limited by scale of City Region Greatest coincidence of sectors/opportunities in City Centres. Newcastle/Gateshead is already the major location for higher paid, higher skilled workers

15. Implications Polarisation: Very strong employment performance in Sunderland has helped to limit polarisation in “City Region South” Important that momentum is maintained, including the development of private sector services Low Carbon: exceptionally important opportunity for industrial and service economy – waterfront and industrial locations; renewable, electric vehicles, consultancy and retro fitting are the early opportunities.

16. Implications Housing: Attraction and retention of skilled workers requires employment opportunities and attractive places to live Addressing the imbalance between North and South housing markets will be important Housing growth and housing market failure in urban areas the two key issues Congestion: Substantial part of employment growth has been focussed on the main road routes Increasing congestion will have a major impact on further development