Leamington’s creative cluster highlighted as of national importance

LEAMINGTON Spa’s creative industry has been named as one of the most important for the UK’s economy.

The Geography of Creativity in the UK report has found that the Warwickshire town is home to more than 1,500 creative business, employing over 7,000 people – making Leamington one of 47 creative clusters in the UK.

The report, which was carried out by innovation charity Nesta, in partnership with Creative England, used latest data to map creative industries in the UK to demonstrate the economic significance of the creative industries across the country, and inform policies to strengthen them further.

Around 50% of the creative businesses in the Leamington cluster are software and digital organisations, with the other half made up primarily of design, music, performing arts and advertising business, along with some TV, radio and architecture companies.

The report identified that creative companies are continuing to grow more rapidly than most other sectors nationally, with design, software and advertising sectors particularly strong nationally.

The growth is mainly due to an increase in small start-ups employing an average of three people.

In a recent Culture White Paper, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport identified that the creative industries contribute £81.4bn to the economy. The sector employs 1.9m people and is growing twice as fast as the UK economy as a whole.

The impact of creative industries on growth and regeneration in larger cities has been known for some time, however the Geography of Creativity report argues that the industries are having the same effect across the whole of the UK.

The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) has identified the creative industry in the sub-region as major driver of the local and regional economy.

Sarah Windrum, a member of the CWLEP board, said: “The growth of the creative industries in Leamington Spa has a substantial economic benefit to the whole Coventry and Warwickshire region.

“The Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership is working with the cluster and the wider business community to encourage the sharing of best practice across all sectors to create a culture of innovation.

“This will benefit us all as creativity is one of the key drivers for economic growth and productivity. I am pleased the Nesta report highlights the strong foundation we have to build on which is all thanks to the hard work of our creative businesses.”