West London Business (WLB) has launched a report evidencing West London as the world’s most connected place.
Following a roundtable discussion attended by West London business leaders in autumn 2018, where it was suggested that West London might be the most connected place on Earth, the WLB team has since been piecing together the data that confirmed the hypothesis.
WLB first tested whether London was truly “the most connected” amongst a benchmark group of ‘Global Cities’ (defined by A. T. Kearney) and then used a reduced dataset to compare London’s sub-regions. Following further research, WLB say they have concluded that West London is indeed the world’s most connected place.
The study considers ‘Connectivity’ as the ability for people, ideas and information to move across physical or virtual boundaries to do business locally and globally. More specifically, the report sets out to find the world’s most connected place, defining connectivity through the lenses of: Culture; Transport; Internet; and Ease of doing business.
London emerged as the world’s most connected global city, followed by Singapore and Hong Kong. The research examined each of London’s sub-regions and found that West London is the most connected part of London.
West London’s global hub airport Heathrow and excellent road & rail connections, along with its diverse population (44% of West London residents being born outside the UK) and international food culture are, says the research, an immense strength. Fast broadband is the city and sub-region’s Achilles heel and an area where London policy makers are starting to make accelerated public and private sector investment a priority.
Responding to the report, Liz Peace CBE, Chairman, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation said:
“OPDC has long made the case that investment in Park Royal industrial estate is crucial in securing West London’s place as a world-class business hub. The new HS2 station coming to Old Oak will be the largest built in a century, with 250,000 passengers using it every day, strengthening West London’s position as the world’s most connected place.
“This report emphasises that our mission to transform Old Oak and regenerate Park Royal will benefit business and culture for many years to come.”
Mark Jackson, Director of Planning, Fairview New Homes said: “West London is so well connected it is an obvious place to do business and encourages us to plan positively for future developments in the region. The great connections give us and other organisations in our industry an incentive and confidence to invest. West London has set a high benchmark and we feel sure it will continue to be the world’s most connected place for future generations!”
Andrew Dakers, Chief Executive, West London Business, added: “We’ve long championed West London as a perfect base for companies of all sizes to locate. Having this backed up by empirical evidence only adds to our confidence that the West London will continue to attract world-leading companies like GSK and Diageo that will leverage the global cultural connections and mindset, transport and internet infrastructure, as well as ease of doing business.”
