Business in Runnymede
 

Runnymede's economy is characterised by:-

Low unemployment - consistently below 1%

High earnings - average weekly earnings in 2001 of £594 compared to a national average of £347 (and higher than all our neighbouring districts)

High housing costs - 13th highest average house price out of 376 local author ity areas in the country (including London Boroughs) according to the Land Registry record of actual sales

High proportion of 'knowledge' sector workers - the third highest local authority area in the country for its percentage of 'knowledge' sector employees

High proportion of small companies - over 70% of local employers have 10 or fewer employees

High level of business start-ups - over 50 VAT registrations per 10,000 adult residents in 1999

A dominant service sector - employing some 62% of the workforce

Small retail centres - Runnymede has three small town centres with limited representation of national chains and a number of smaller village centres

High levels of road use - the Borough includes the country's busiest motorway and its other roads are used at a level well above the national average

The healthy local economy can be attributed to a range of factors:

A highly skilled workforce

High levels of disposable income

Excellent communications, being situated to the west of London, close to Heathrow, and with direct access to the M3 and M25 motorways.


 

It is hoped that there will be a high quality rail service (known as 'Airtrack') through Runnymede linking Heathrow with Woking, Guildford and Reading. The Business Partnership and the Borough Council are working to ensure that this will provide a service from a station in Runnymede.

The largest centres of commerce are contained in the towns of Addlestone, Chertsey and Egham. There are also numerous trading estates and business parks of various sizes within the Borough:-

Addlestone
The Weybridge Business Park and Bourne Business Park are located in Hamm Moor Lane, Addlestone and are the location for many firms specialising in IT, manufacturing, distribution and repair. Aviator Park is a recent business development providing high specification office accommodation on the former Marconi works site.

Chertsey
In Chertsey there are several recently constructed office developments built as part of the 'Chertsey Opportunity' revitalisation scheme. There are several trading estates, namely Chertsey Bridge Estate, Fordwater Trading Estate, Gogmore Lane (offices) and Hanworth Lane Business Park. There is also the Hillswood Business Park which is home to leading IT and electronics companies.

Egham
In Egham, The Causeway (including The Green Business Centre) is home to numerous software companies, manufacturers and distributors. There are also the smaller Pine Tree Business Park on Chertsey Lane and Rivers Edge Industrial Park on Riverpark Avenue.

Thorpe
There is a business park at Crabtree Road, Thorpe part owned by the Borough Council.

Other centres of significant employment growth adjoining the Borough include Staines, Brooklands (Weybridge), Heathrow and Woking.