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Cornwall is Creative Hotspot Of The Future
New study shows entrepreneurial spirit is flourishing in rural locations
Britain's traditional business towns are under threat from growing competition from their country cousins, a study revealed today. New research shows that businesses outside of busy city centres benefit from increased creativity from their workforce - and this 'creativity gap' is increasing. Of the 50 locations predicted to be hubs for innovative businesses in coming years, almost half are in rural locations, and seven places in the top ten are located well away from major cities - a significant swing away from the traditional city-centric pattern of Britain's businesses.
The study, by business analysts MOREL Research, looked at the areas that offer the best environment for 'workforce creativity' - an environment that stimulates inventive thinking and high productivity. According to researchers, the areas identified are the best locations for innovation and entrepreneurship. While London and other cities known for their creative workforces perform well in the current snapshot of 'Creative Britain', the study shows that rural locations are snapping at their heels. Clwyd in Wales, St Ives in Cornwall and Torridge in Devon are tipped to be in the top five business hot spots of the future. Meanwhile, other big towns are sliding down the scale, with Exeter and Guildford both in the bottom ten of 641 locations.
Researchers identified a phenomenon dubbed 'clone town ' as a major reason for the decline in creativity of urban locations. According to researchers, town centres are all beginning to look the same, causing bored locals to switch to auto-pilot when choosing where to buy a sandwich or coffee, and stifling creative thinking. Rural locations tend to have more independent retailers, leading to more diverse high streets and inspiring people to use their brains when out and about, the research showed.
Migration of professionals away from cities may be another reason for a creativity boom in regional locations, researchers said. According to a report from the Office of National Statistics, around 60,000 people leave London for other UK locations each year. Meanwhile, the South West has seen a steady rise in people moving to the region from cities, with 28,000 people moving in 2006 alone . The results suggested this influx of new people with new ideas is contributing to the improving business environment of many South West locations.
Tim Campbell, winner of the first series of the BBC's 'Apprentice' series and founder of entrepreneur charity The Bright Ideas Trust, commented: "Entrepreneurs are vital to the country's future economic security and it is essential that we pay attention to innovation happening outside London and the major cities. A creative approach to day to day work is imperative if you want to establish a foothold over the competition. To maintain our competitive advantage in world markets we need companies to be constantly innovating to avoid becoming a nation of 'clone businesses'."
The study reviewed academic and government research of twelve factors that influence creativity in the workplace, ranging from the individuality of the high street, to the beauty of the surrounding environment, to different cultures represented in the community. The research team surveyed over 200 businesses across the country to determine which of these factors had the biggest influence on the creativity of their staff. These results were used to weight each factor according to its importance. The resulting 'creativity index' was then applied to 641 places to build a picture of creative Britain. By comparing result trends from the past five years, researchers were able to predict which areas will be the creative hot spots of the future.
Matching London with five places in the current top 25 creative places to work was the South West, which also boasted five locations in the predicted top ten creative hot spots of the future, compared to London's one.
Lucy Hunt, Inward Investment Manager for Cornwall Pure Business, said: "The success of small towns across the South West, like St Ives and Truro in Cornwall, demonstrates that you don't have to be in the heart of the city to have a successful business. Cornwall has invested millions in the past ten years to make the county attractive to entrepreneurs and as a result we have seen around a third more knowledge based businesses relocating here in the last year alone. There are so many benefits to basing a business in an inspiring environment like ours, from the stunning scenery to our excellent academic and research institutions, the Combined Universities of Cornwall. We hope this research encourages more people to come and see for themselves."
Cornwall Pure Business is a service of Cornwall Enterprise