Issue - meetings

To hear initial findings fromCentre for London research on the changing economy of West London, commissioned by the London Borough Ealing and supported by the West London Alliance and Imperial College London, and help to inform the research and its conclusions.

The Board are asked to note that Rob Anderson (Research Director, Centre for London) has been invited to attend for this item.

(Agenda republished to include accompanying presentation slides on 13 November 2024)

Councillor Shital Manro was invited to briefly introduce the item outlining initial findings from the Centre for London on research they had been commissioned to undertake by the London Borough of Ealing (led by Councillor Peter Mason) on the changing economy of West London, supported by the WLA and Imperial College London.

The Chair welcomed Rob Anderson (Research Director – Centre for London) to the meeting, who had been invited to provide a brief presentation on the emerging findings from the research.  The following key issues were highlighted as part of the update:

·             The outline of the main project objectives, focussed on providing an analysis of the current and emerging economic landscape in West London (initially focussed on Ealing) and comparison with Central London and the Central Activities Zone (CAZ); identifying opportunities for high growth, sustainable economic development in West London; outlining key principles and a supporting narrative for a polycentric approach to growth in London and what would be needed for that to succeed in West London; and providing an outline of the economies and diseconomies of agglomeration in London with particular reference to the evolving role of the CAZ and its relationship with emerging growth corridors (including the West Tech Corridor) and the London Growth Plan.

·             The research process undertaken, which the Board noted had included a review of existing economic policies, primary data analysis including metrics on business, economy, planning, transport and population, expert interviews and feedback from advisory group sessions including representatives from WLA and Imperial College.

·             The outline of emerging findings, which included:

Ø   A working definition of polycentrism based on the concept of a city with multiple centres of growth and urban areas with distinct local characters, complemented by development to support those centres rather than as 'enclaves' to growth in the metropolitan centre.  This would include on a physical basis multiple urban centres within a wider geographical framework or governing structure, and on a functional basis multiple self-sustaining economic centres of growth which were evenly distributed to support sub-regional development supported by an effective and evenly distributed transport network.

Ø   West London being identified as functional polycentrism “ready”, on the basis of it featuring multiple centres of economic activity with the ability to disperse growth and economic opportunity more evenly than the CAZ.

Ø   West London’s strong foundational economy providing resilience and in turn supporting self-sufficiency.  This included a resilient construction and logistics base which had enabled the region to grow consistently despite recent challenges, which contrasted directly with the CAZ where footfall and consumer activity had heavily determined growth.  Despite lower rates of business births and deaths, these were also more stable and consistent than Central London.

Ø   West London was already outperforming other parts of London in key sectors with signs of ongoing business strength and rising prosperity.  This was reflected in the growth in professional, scientific and technical businesses since 2010 and also in terms of the region experiencing increases in VAT receipts and faster  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7