Leamington in top 30 creative clusters nationally

Leamington Spa has been named among the top 30 creative business clusters in the United Kingdom - and top of the tree in the Midlands.

Widely-renowned as a base for the creative industries, Leamington has earned a high standing in a report by innovation charity Nesta and Creative England, a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to the growth of creative industries.

Leamington was ranked 28th in research which covered 1,504 creative businesses across the country. The town and surrounding area has just over 7,000 people employed in the sector whose estimated Gross Value Added, a measure of productivity, was £417.6m.

Nationally, eight of the largest nine clusters, as measured by number of creative businesses, are in the south with only Manchester in the top nine elsewhere.

The research defined a cluster as a location in the UK top ten in its concentration of business 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, highlighting the importance of Leamington - "Silicon Spa" - to the local economy.

That is why Warwickshire County Council is committed to supporting small and start-up businesses in the creative industries in every way it can. Such support is essential if the regions are to punch their weight in the ongoing battle to challenge London's domination, believes head of innovation mapping at Nesta, Juan Mateos-Garcia.

“The UK’s geography of creativity is diverse and growing," he said. "London and other creative cities are very important, but so are other areas which are sometimes overlooked.

"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.”