Huntingdonshire Aireal View

Why Huntingdonshire?

Huntingdonshire is a perfectly positioned region. It sits on major arterial road and rail routes, near to the UK’s major life science and tech clusters of Cambridge, London and Oxford. It has a fast growing, diverse population living and working in vibrant market towns where there is plenty of quality business space to choose from.

Smart, Strategic Location

Huntingdonshire is superbly placed as a business location situated on the transport spine of the country. It lies on a key north-south, east-west axis of road and rail links, including the A1(M), A14, M11 and East Coast Mainline, giving easy access to London, Cambridge, the Midlands, and the North. Eight international airports are all located within a 2-hour drive whilst there is a regular 48-minute direct rail service to London Kings Cross. In addition, the Eastern seaports are all within easy reach including the UK’s largest container port at Felixstowe handling approximately 40% of the UK’s container trade.

1

Meet the Neighbours

Huntingdonshire sits between the internationally renowned innovation hub of Cambridge, the eco-cluster of Peterborough.

2

Well Connected

Travel to Huntingdon to get to work from London Kings Cross in 48 minutes and Peterborough in 15 minutes.

3

Infrastructure Investment

The £1.5billion infrastructure upgrade to A14 means it now takes just 25mins to get to central Huntingdon from Cambridge Science Park.

4

Public Transport

The growing technology hub in St Ives is just 7 stops (21 minutes) from Cambridge Science Park.

Fast growing, diverse talent pool - Scientist in lab

Fast growing, diverse talent pool

Whilst home to a multitude of international businesses including the likes of ABB, Bosch, Hotel Chocolat, Xaar and LabCorp, the region also hosts a thriving and innovative small to medium sized business sector. High tech businesses are well represented with a variety of sectors including high value manufacturing, bio/life sciences, clean tech and ICT at the forefront. Augmenting this, the district offers a highly skilled workforce of a million people within an hour’s drive with skills 20% above national average, has 25 centres of academic excellence nearby including Cambridge and Cranfield, and is within the only UK region represented in the EU’s top 10 R&D regions.

Fast growing, diverse talent pool - Scientist in lab

Fast growing, diverse talent pool

Whilst home to a multitude of international businesses including the likes of ABB, Bosch, Hotel Chocolat, Xaar and LabCorp, the region also hosts a thriving and innovative small to medium sized business sector. High tech businesses are well represented with a variety of sectors including high value manufacturing, bio/life sciences, clean tech and ICT at the forefront. Augmenting this, the district offers a highly skilled workforce of a million people within an hour’s drive with skills 20% above national average, has 25 centres of academic excellence nearby including Cambridge and Cranfield, and is within the only UK region represented in the EU’s top 10 R&D regions.

1

Over 179,000 people

Huntingdonshire is home to over 179,000 people and is growing at a fast rate.

2

Ranked 4th

For the number of apprenticeships starts 2020/21 in the East of England (50 local authorities).

3

550 Manufacturing Businesses

A sizeable mass of 550 manufacturing businesses and a manufacturing sector with an economic output of £2.7bn p.a.

4

Highly Skilled

Over 40% of working age residents are educated to NVQ4 and above.

Superior quality of life in bustling market towns

Huntingdonshire is a flourishing region, with beautiful open countryside surrounding the 4 major, thriving market towns of Huntingdon, St Neots, St Ives and Ramsey - all with rich histories, architectural charm and bustling local businesses and communities. The region is home to the largest meadow in England, Portholme, as well as lots of award-winning green spaces such as Hinchingbrooke Country Park (Huntingdon) and Riverside Park (St Neots). This combined with the local councils support of delivering a green post-covid recovery, lots of economical housing and improving fibre connectivity all makes it an attractive place for people to live and work.

1

Award Winning

Sunday Times best places to live 2022: St Ives named one of the top places to live in the East of England.

2

Digital Connectivity

Greater 5G and full fibre investment and expanding rural connectivity to improve productivity

3

Good Housing Stock

Ranked second for the number of net additional dwellings 2020/21 in the East of England (local authorities).

4

Economical Housing

Average house price (£300k) is a third lower than neighbouring Cambridge (£466k).

Lots of Viable Growth Space

Huntingdonshire has plenty of development land and existing industrial, lab, office and retail floor space to support the ever expanding business community in the region. The average cost per square foot in the area is a fraction of that of neighbouring Cambridge, while it’s proximity and access, by road and rail to key markets – Cambridge, Peterborough, London and Oxford makes it the ideal location for many advanced manufacturing, technology, life sciences support and service businesses. Within the region there are also key developments, like the Alconbury Enterprise Zone – a 150 Hectare campus offering 3.33 million sq ft of employment floor space including flexible and inspiring space for small and start-up businesses in the flagship incubator space.

Lots of Viable Growth Space

Huntingdonshire has plenty of development land and existing industrial, lab, office and retail floor space to support the ever expanding business community in the region. The average cost per square foot in the area is a fraction of that of neighbouring Cambridge, while it’s proximity and access, by road and rail to key markets – Cambridge, Peterborough, London and Oxford makes it the ideal location for many advanced manufacturing, technology, life sciences support and service businesses. Within the region there are also key developments, like the Alconbury Enterprise Zone – a 150 Hectare campus offering 3.33 million sq ft of employment floor space including flexible and inspiring space for small and start-up businesses in the flagship incubator space.

1

Competitively Priced

Average cost per sq.ft for offices (Huntingdon £16.17, St Ives £17.40 and St Neots £22.99 versus Cambridge £33.96. Source: Realla.co.uk)

2

15 Business Parks

Home to 15 business parks across the region offering a wide range of office, industrial and warehousing space

3

Growth Space

1,912 (thousand m2) business floorspace

4

Other Key Sectors

221 (thousand m2) retail floorspace, 174 (thousand m2) office floorspace, 1,350 (thousand m2) industrial floorspace

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Why 42T Technology Chose Huntingdonshire - Scientist in lab

Why 42T Technology Chose Huntingdonshire

42T is a product design and technology innovation consultancy based in St Ives that partners with its clients to solve complex engineering problems and create brilliantly successful products across three key sectors; industrial, transport and energy; consumer; and healthcare and life sciences.  Read more about how they see St Ives as not only a beautiful, thriving riverside market town but a well-connected strategic location for their business.

Why 42T Technology Chose Huntingdonshire - Scientist in lab

Why 42T Technology Chose Huntingdonshire

42T is a product design and technology innovation consultancy based in St Ives that partners with its clients to solve complex engineering problems and create brilliantly successful products across three key sectors; industrial, transport and energy; consumer; and healthcare and life sciences.  Read more about how they see St Ives as not only a beautiful, thriving riverside market town but a well-connected strategic location for their business.

Alconbury Weald Studios

Alconbury Weald Studios is a tv and video production facility based in a refurbished "Cold War bunker" at Alconbury Weald. The business has many excellent clients inc BT Sport and business owner Dennis Luckett has been fortunate to meet many high profile people whilst running his business. The company applied for a growth grant from HDC late in 2021. 

Alconbury Weald Studios

Alconbury Weald Studios is a tv and video production facility based in a refurbished "Cold War bunker" at Alconbury Weald. The business has many excellent clients inc BT Sport and business owner Dennis Luckett has been fortunate to meet many high profile people whilst running his business. The company applied for a growth grant from HDC late in 2021. 

Contact Us

For more information, please contact us:

Tel: 01480 388 074

Email: economic.development@huntingdonshire.gov.uk 

Invest in Huntingdonshire
Huntingdonshire District Council
St Mary's Street
Huntingdon
PE29 3TN

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