Quality of Life
The region offers:
- World-class expertise with R&D expenditure three times the national average
- Excellence in further and higher education with four world-leading universities
- A well-established manufacturing base
- Clusters of leading-edge businesses working together
- One of the largest concentrations of new and growing businesses in the country
- Fast access to London, without associated costs of the capital
The East of England is one of the fastest growing regions in the UK, encompassing the counties of Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
It is an attractive environment with an advanced transport network of roads and railways, to link with the UK heartland and main markets of Europe, along with eight international airports and seven major seaports.
In the 2002 census here were 5.4 million people living within the region, 2.8 million of whom were employed. The economic activity rate in the region was 82.2%, the highest in the UK outside the South-East.
71% of land in the region is used for agriculture but 73.7% of the Gross Value Added comes from the services sector which includes energy, distribution, hotels, catering, education and research.
A housing report in 2007 showed 2.5 million dwellings, of which:
- 72% were privately occupied
- 8% rented from a local authority
- 8% rented from a registered social landlord
- 12% rented privately
The number of dwellings is projected to rise to 3.2m by 2013.
The energy sector is well established in the region, with North Sea oil and gas as a cornerstone of the economy in the area. It is now complemented by renewable energy initiatives such as windfarms and biomass energy plants.
