Region in need of creative thinking as sector struggles
LEAMINGTON SPA has been identified as a cluster for the creative industries – but is the only place in the West Midlands out of 47 in the UK to be given that status.
By comparison the North West has five places and Yorkshire three, although it is the south of the country which dominates the rankings.
It has eight of the largest nine clusters, as measured by number of creative businesses, with only Manchester breaking the monopoly.
London dominates, with 40% of the UK’s creative industry workers, and employing more people than the next 21 clusters on the list. The capital city’s creative GVA – a measure of productivity for the sector – was £41.8bn while the rest of the UK’s clusters totalled £33.7bn.
The research by Nesta and Creative England defined a cluster as a location which is in the UK top 10 in its concentration of business or employment in relevant creative sub-sectors, or that has experienced rapid growth in its levels of creative business or employment concentration.
The report found the creative workforce in these clusters has grown by 28% in the last seven years.
Identifying the emergence of motorway towns, like Slough, Basingstoke and Warrington, in growing the country’s creatve sector, the report’s author highlight the importance of understanding where creative businesses and employment are based if policymakers are to support their growth.
Juan Mateos-Garcia, head of innovation mapping at Nesta, added: “The UK’s geography of creativity is diverse and growing. London and other creative cities are very important, but so are other areas which are sometimes overlooked when we talk about creative clusters. A better understanding of their specialism and impact on the local economy will help ensure that these hotspots continue to gain access to the talent and knowledge they need to thrive.”
Leamington Spa, which is ranked 28th with 1,504 creative businesses, has just over 7,000 people employed in the sector. Its creative GVA was judged to be £417.6m.
