Reading
There are few places to rival Reading for its energy and ambition. For many years labelled as a transport interchange, the reality is that Reading is one of the most cosmopolitan and dynamic places in the south east.
Reading lies at the heart of the Thames Valley, widely regarded as the 'Silicon Valley' of the UK, and one of the most successful economies globally.
It has a strong and mature economy, built around the following sectors:
- ICT
- Financial and Business Services
- Retail
- Hospitality and Leisure
- Research and Development
- Pharma-bio
A vibrant international business centre, the Diamond is home to some of the world's most recognisable brands, such as Verizon Business, Cisco, LogicaCMG, BG Group, Prudential, Microsoft, Oracle and ING.
GVA is some 45% above the regional average and 35% of its population is educated to degree level or above.
Success is underpinned by ease of access to London and Heathrow, a highly skilled workforce and the high quality of life on offer.
It is home to two Universities, both of which provide a complimentary offer to support the Diamonds successful economy.
The University of Reading is one of the UK's 10 most research-intensive universities and is home to a number of international centres of research excellence in areas such as agriculture, biological and physical sciences, European histories and cultures, and meteorology.
Additionally, Thames Valley University offers a continuously evolving cirriculum encompassing higher education, further education and pedagogical research.
It provides a wide range of research activity and resources - and has strong links with the National Health Service (NHS), Law Society and industrial consortia.
In 2007 Reading came top in an assessment of the performance of 56 of the country's largest towns and cities: Centre for Cities measured employment, population and skills, and cited 'cities' like Reading as performing "very well".
This followed hot on the heels of Experian Business Strategies' 2007 Regional Planning Report, which showed the Reading Diamond outperforming Cardiff, Edinburgh, Leeds, Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and London in terms of its output growth, predicted to grow by 3.4% annually to 2020.
This underpinned its position set out in the government's State of the English Cities (2006) and in Cushman & Wakefield's Cities for Business (2007) where it was recognised as one of the UK's leading business locations.
The Diamond has in excess of 25m sq ft of development consented, planned or in the pipeline.
Infrastructure, in particular transport, will be crucial to facilitating such growth and a government announcement in July 2007 confirmed a commitment in excess of £550m to improving the track, platform, concourse and signalling at Reading station, the second busiest in the country outside London.
But Reading is not all about the built environment: each new development has been embraced as part of the natural process of growth. The rapid expansion of this modern town, its optimism and commitment to regeneration is not only about establishing Reading as a European city but is also about creating a town that its people can be proud of.
They reflect the energy and ever-changing face of the town and come from all over the globe - to learn, to work, to experience different cultures and to be part of a dynamic way of life. Together, people and place are moving forward, sharing an ambitious vision for a town that is recreating itself with imagination and vigour.
