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Greater Thames Valley vies with London for most productive UK region

A new report by a coalition of South East Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEP) has claimed that the Greater Thames Valley region is UK’s second most productive region behind London.

The figures found that the Greater Thames Valley delivered £144bn Gross Value Added (GVA) to the UK economy in 2015/16, productivity drivers which the report says attests to the region’s status as an economic growth hub.

By comparison, the report points out, Greater Birmingham and Greater Manchester, which are two areas vaunted by the government for economic growth, delivered £99bn GVA combined in the same period.

Underpinning the region’s prospects is the fact that the Thames Valley, comprising Thames Valley Berkshire, Enterprise M3, Buckinghamshire Thames Valley, Solent, and Oxfordshire LEP areas, has almost 400k more workers qualified to Level 4 or above than both Manchester and Birmingham despite having comparable populations.

Tim Smith MBE, Chief Executive of the Berkshire Thames Valley LEP commented: “These results emphasise the importance of the Greater Thames Valley as an economic powerhouse, which has a significant impact on the health of the UK economy and punches above its weight when it comes to productivity.”

Richard Harrington, Chief Executive Officer of the Buckinghamshire Thames Valley LEP, added: “As well as the business rate, planning and development advantages that Enterprise Zone status offers, all three are set to benefit from the increased regional infrastructure investment being driven by the National Infrastructure Commission including East West Rail and the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway improving connectivity to London, across the Thames Valley and to the world-leading Universities and research hubs.”

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