Gatwick Diamond

The Gatwick Diamond is a name invented as a brand for a loosely defined economic area that surrounds Gatwick Airport, some 30 miles south of London. It stretches from the edge of London and the North Downs in the North to the edge of Brighton and the South Downs in the South, from Horsham in the West to East Grinstead in the East. It is an area covering 400 square miles which benefits from two ‘Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty’ - the Surrey Hills and the South Downs National Park. It has a population of 680,000 and its economy generates £20.7bn GDP. 12 million people live within one hour’s drive. There are 406,000 economically active people in the Gatwick Diamond; 81% of the working age population is economically active. 74% of Gatwick Diamond workers are residents (Annual population Survey 2011). The Unemployment level is very low at 1.4%. The Gatwick Diamond is home to 45,000 businesses including many UK and European Headquarters. Some of these companies are: Unilever, Exxon Mobil, Toyota, Doosan, Thales Group, Varian Medical Systems, Elekta, Nestle, EDF Energy, Edwards Vacuum, Canon Inc. and G4S. It also contains the Manor Royal Business Park – the largest business park in the UK,[1] containing 550 businesses and employing around 35,000 people.

The Gatwick Diamond Initiative

The Gatwick Diamond Initiative is a business led private/public partnership that was established in April 2003 to improve the economic performance of the Area.[2] It now includes 7 local borough/district councils (Horsham, Crawley, Mid Sussex, Tandridge, Reigate & Banstead, Mole Valley and Epsom & Ewell) and two county councils (West Sussex and Surrey), as well as a range of private sector partners.

One of its first actions was to arrange a meeting of the principal stakeholders (both public and private sector) to determine what actions could be taken to improve the economic performance of the Area. Business leaders considered that the first priority should be to give the Area an image and identity. The Initiative therefore launched the “Gatwick Diamond” on 15 July 2004. Since then the term “Gatwick Diamond” has achieved widespread recognition and acceptance. It was first referred to in parliament by Nicholas Soames, MP for Mid Sussex, on 13 Jun 2006.[3] With the local authorities and government agencies to address the economic needs of the area to ensure it is a world class place to do business. The Gatwick Diamond Initiative lobbies government and the public sector on issues that prevent businesses in the area from growing; they encourage international trade; promote, attract and help UK and foreign inward investors looking to locate in the area; campaign on issues such as Air Passenger Duty, second runway and the Gatwick Express; and to encourage the three FE colleges at Redhill, Crawley and Epsom to work together with the University of Brighton and University for the Creative Arts to provide a greater Higher and Further Education offer that meets business needs.

Economy

The Gatwick Diamond area is situated directly South of London and covers the East of Surrey and North West of Sussex. The heart of the area is 30 miles from Central London. By rail, the Gatwick Express can get to Central London in 30 minutes. Gatwick Airport is situated at the centre of the Gatwick Diamond and is a nominal 1 hour's drive from Heathrow Airport, subject to frequent delays on the M25. The Gatwick Diamond is within 1 hour from the sea ports of Shoreham and Newhaven and 90 minutes from Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth sea ports. By road, the M23 dissects the Gatwick Diamond and is just 10 minutes from the M25. By bus, the Metrobus Fastway service takes many employees in the Gatwick Diamond to their workplace; coaches leave Gatwick to reach 400 UK towns and cities. The Gatwick Diamond is an economic area worth £20.7bn GDP (growing at 3% per year), with a Population of 680,000.

Gatwick Airport

Gatwick Airport has 48 airlines which in turn fly to 200 destinations, which is more than any other UK airport. Gatwick Airport connects to 45 out of 50 top European destinations and over half of the world’s emerging markets. In 2014, Gatwick Airport had 38.6 million passengers pass through it. This contributes towards Gatwick being the busiest single runway airport in the world. The Gatwick train station connects indirectly to 126 UK destinations. 14 million passengers use Gatwick rail station, the busiest airport station in the UK.

GDB: the Gatwick Diamond Business Association

Until 2012, known as CADIA (Crawley and District Industry Association), GDB: the Gatwick Diamond Business Association offers networking opportunities at its monthly members meetings. It operates very like the other membership organisations in the area such as the Chambers of Commerce, Sussex Enterprise and Surrey Chambers of Commerce and the Federation of Small Businesses but concentrates on the Gatwick Diamond area. It also delivers the Gatwick Diamond Business Awards.

Business Membership Organisations

References

  1. ↑ Manor Royal Homepage
  2. ↑ Gatwick Diamond Initiative
  3. ↑ Hansard http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200506/cmhansrd/vo060613/halltext/60613h0002.htm

External links

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