The East Midlands section includes key facts, Top 25 companies ranked by turnover, transport statistics, political tables and regional contacts.
This is an extract from the East Midlands section of UK plc
Old problems, new opportunities
A flourishing region? Not quite yet, but the past year has seen the East Midlands lay the foundations for the East Midlands Development Agency’s (Emda) much heralded European Union top 20 status.
Huge swathes of redevelopment have seen the region’s cities dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Nottingham’s NG2 business park has provided something truly new for companies looking to relocate to the city centre and is now home to many major players. The Pod on Fletchergate has broken with tradition and looks set to herald a new beginning in design and architecture in the city. And the £11bn takeover of Alliance Boots might have stunned the market, but it meant a huge rush of money out of London into the East Midlands as deal activity soared.
Leicester’s vaunted £3bn redevelopment isn’t without its problems, but it has shown just how important a masterplan is to a city. Leicester’s dates back to 2002, but it is now bearing fruit with the development of the new business quarter around Charles Street attracting a whole new generation of professional services companies. Alongside this comes Hammerson’s extension of the Shires which sees the retail offer there almost double in size.
Derby’s quiet revolution continues apace with the development of the Riverside and Cathedral areas, alongside the opening of the new Eagle shopping centre. The city has shown perfectly how to balance the old part of the town with the modern, and next comes a brand new city centre transport interchange that could see the retail sector really take off.
The new train station at Corby is just part of a huge effort to get Northamptonshire moving, but the region lacks direction and identity. Does it look south, or does it consider itself part of the East Midlands? Until it can forge its own brand, it may struggle.
Lincoln remains quietly buoyant. Whilst it will always struggle to throw off its image as a rural backwater, real changes are being made in the city. The university has transformed the Brayford Pool area beyond recognition, and the City Council’s Public Realm scheme is aimed at truly uniting those who live and work in Lincoln.
Investment in high technology industries and the sciences in the East Midlands remains low, despite constant tinkering and small bursaries from Emda. One of the big players needs to step up to the mark.
Transport problems also hang like a millstone around the region’s neck, although schemes such as the extension of the tram system in Nottingham and the new Parkway station near East Midlands Airport may well alleviate logjams in the future.
So what of the next 12 months? Much of the redevelopment of the East Midlands is set to come on-line over the next year.
It will be extremely interesting to see how firms in the region face up to the challenges that these new schemes offer. Watch this space.
Sam Metcalf is a journalist for
Midlands Business Insider magazine