Local Economic Assessment

LOCAL ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT
LONDON BOROUGH OF REDBRIDGE 2016

Contents
1 Introduction 3
1.1 Purpose 3
1.2 Legislative Background 3
1.3 Objectives of the LEA 3
1.4 Core Evidence Base 5
1.5 Monitoring 5
2 Setting the Scene 6
2.1 The Redbridge Economy in Perspective 6
2.2 A Globalised City 6
2.3 Regional Economic Structure 9
2.4 Outer London Issues 11
2.5 Redbridge in its London Context 11
3 Redbridge Now 18
3.1 Strong Population Growth 18
3.2 Housing 23
3.3 Industries in which Redbridge Residents Work 26
3.4 Industries in which people work in Redbridge 31
3.5 Business Investment and Growth 34
3.6 Barriers to Business Success 38
3.7 Worklessness Assessment 38
Sustainable Economic Growth 46
4 Shaping the Future Economy 48
4.1 Continuous Change 48
4.2 Recovery from the Recession 48
4.3 Competition within the Sub-region 48
4.4 The Local Plan - Strategic Context 51
4.5 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats 60
5 Policy Directions 61
5.1 A sustainable pattern of development 61
5.2 The Council’s Role 61
5.3 Policy Responses 62
2
Local Economic Assessment – London Borough of Redbridge
1 Introduction
1.1 Purpose
This Local Economic Assessment (‘LEA’) has been prepared to meet the
Council’s duty under statute. Its purpose is to provide a solid base of evidence
and analysis about economic conditions in Redbridge to help the Council and its
partners better target their work to promote economic growth and prosperity.
This LEA provides an update on the different aspects of Redbridge’s economy
from the previous document published in 2011.
1.2 Legislative Background

Previously, local authorities were required to produce a LEA document which
needed to adhere to principles set out in the now-rescinded Local Democracy,
Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. Today, although the
requirement for Local Authorities (LA) to produce a LEA remains, in September
2010 the Department for Communities and Local Government published a letter
clarifying that LEAs were no longer required to be formed in accordance with
statutory guidance. Instead, LAs are allowed to determine for themselves the
breadth and scope of their assessments based on their local needs.
1.3 Objectives of the LEA
The main objectives for LEAs are that they should:
Provide a sound assessment of economic conditions in the area and how they
affect residents and businesses.
Identify the comparative strengths and weaknesses of the local economy and
the nature and form of local economic challenges and opportunities.
Identify the local economic geography, including the economic linkages

between the area being assessed and the wider economy.
Identify the local constraints to economic growth and employment and the risks
to delivering sustainable economic growth.
In preparing its assessment, Redbridge will have regard to the Corporate

Strategy. The next few years present a major challenge for Redbridge.
Population projections suggest there will be an increase of over 25,000 people
by 2018 and the Council will need to save £70m due to the increased pressures
on current services and reductions in central government funding. The
Corporate Strategy co-ordinates all Council activity; explaining the work the
Council plans to do and how it is going to be delivered. Externally the Corporate
Strategy will provide a shared vision for the borough, identify corporate priorities
for the coming years and describe how the Council and its partners will face
challenges, minimise risk and improve outcomes for people in the borough
where possible. Internally it provides a clear vision for employees to work to;
ensures that all strategies and plans are working towards the same goal;
represents political priorities across the work we do; and provides employees
with an understanding of how they contribute to the vision of the Council.
3
The strategy identifies four overarching corporate priorities, to which all work will
be aligned, and details how the Council will deliver on these priorities. The
sections included below highlight any links to employment and skills and
sustainable economic growth.
1. Increase fairness and respond to the aspirations of the borough
As the Council is no longer able to deliver the same range of services to all
our residents as was possible before reductions in central government
funding, services must be targeted where possible, as early as possible.
Services will be designed with residents and partners to encourage all to
achieve their full potential.
Key priority projects include providing Council support to local services and
initiatives which address the pressures of the cost of living, such as credit
unions and other sources of support for managing money responsibly, and
improving external support for businesses of all sizes by working with
partners to safeguard employment space at a range of rent levels, facilitate
access to superfast broadband and ensure routes to workforce, training,
skills and labour.
2. Improve the quality of life and civic pride amongst our

communities
The Council needs to focus its work to ensure Redbridge continues to be a

place of choice to live and work because of the good quality of life it
provides.
One of the key ways in which this will be achieved is using the Council’s
role in the regional economy to stimulate investment and regeneration and
help to sustain growth by investing in local businesses and encouraging
residents to shop locally.
3. Transform our Council in tough times to be dynamic and

responsive to the challenges of the future
With the Council facing such unprecedented pressures it is acknowledged

that there needs to be large scale change. It is necessary to be proactive to
tackle the challenges and innovate in finding solutions.
4. Empower our community to help shape our borough and the

services we deliver
The next few years are going to be difficult, as the Council faces tough
decisions to prioritise what it does. These decisions cannot be made in
isolation from the local community; there is a real need for meaningful
engagement around which services the Council provides and how those
services are to be delivered.
In preparing their LEAs London boroughs should take account of the London
Plan and the Mayor of London’s strategies for economic development and
transport. In this context, the Mayor of London’s Economic Development
Strategy 2010 (‘EDS’) is the key document which provides part of the basis for
spatial policies in the draft replacement London Plan. Its five objectives are to:
4
 To promote London as a city that excels as a world capital of business;

 To ensure that London has the most competitive business environment in the
world;
 To drive London’s transition to a low carbon economy and maximize the
economic opportunities that this creates; and
 To give all Londoners the opportunity to take part in London’s economic
success, access sustainable employment and progress in their careers.
The EDS is referred to further in the next chapter and information is drawn from
it about how Redbridge fits within the wider London economy. The Mayor’s
Transport Strategy published in 2010 is also referenced.
1.4 Core Evidence Base

While the Government has not prescribed any particular approach for
undertaking an LEA, the guidance indicates that local authorities in a region
should take a “broadly consistent” approach. A “structured regional dialogue” is
recommended in which partners should agree a common basis of core data to
be collected and analysed.
To this end the Greater London Authority, London Development Agency, the
London boroughs, sub-regional partnerships and London Councils have signed
a Memorandum of Understanding setting out their respective responsibilities
and identifying a minimum core data set which will be used for all LEAs in
London (see Appendix 1). In addition, this LEA draws upon other types of data
relevant to Redbridge including the ‘Redbridge Economic Strategy Development
– Baseline’ (March 2016).
1.5 Monitoring
Monitoring of the key economic issues identified in this LEA will be carried out
as part of the Redbridge LDF Annual Monitoring Report which the Council
publishes annually. This will keep the relevance of the LEA under review and
recommend any future revision as necessary.
5
2 Setting the Scene

2.1 The Redbridge Economy in Perspective
Most definitions of “the economy” refer to the way goods and services are
produced, distributed and consumed in a given area, but Redbridge is a political
entity, not an economic one. Modern economies are not delineated by political
boundaries and economists often refer to “functional economic market areas”
which do not necessarily adhere to administrative boundaries, especially in
major conurbations. Instead, these areas correspond to sub-regions or city-
regions and are typically identified by travel to work patterns or housing
1
markets .
In order to explain economic conditions in Redbridge it is necessary to look

beyond the borough boundaries. We must understand the role played by
Redbridge in the wider pattern of production and consumption across London
and the global economic pressures on London itself.
2.2 A Globalised City

Redbridge is a London borough and for centuries, London’s economy has relied
on its global linkages– first as a centre of mercantile trade, then as a hub of
industrial activity and manufactured exports. As traditional manufacturing
moved out of the capital (and often out of the UK), London has been
transformed into a world leading centre for the less tangible exports of financial
2
and business services and tourism . This trend is often linked with the growth of
the so-called “knowledge economy” and is expected to continue (see Figure 1).
In 1971 there were over 1 million manufacturing jobs in London, accounting for
nearly one quarter of all jobs. Today manufacturing accounts for about 134,000
3
jobs (less than 2% of total jobs) and this is expected to decline to just 90,000
4
by 2031 .
Meanwhile, jobs in financial and business services are expected to grow from
1.56 million in 2007 to 1.98 million in 2031 (about 38% of all net new jobs in
growing sectors projected between now and 2031). This is projected to be
followed by 360,000 new jobs in leisure and personal services and another
235,000 new jobs in hotels and restaurants. There will be smaller contributions
5
from the education and health sectors (54,000 jobs) and retailing (36,000 jobs) .
1
Functional Economic Market Areas: An economic note. CLG, February 2010.
Section 4.
2
Tourism is considered as an export industry in that it generates foreign income
from international visitors.
3
GLA Draft Economic Evidence Base 2016
4
Mayor’s Economic Development Strategy for London. GLA. March 2015.
5
Ibid.
6
Figure 1: Historic and projected employment (000s) in London’s smaller
6
sectors, 1984 to 2036
Figure 2: Jobs in London in 2014 by sector and proportion of London

7
total
6
Source: GLA Economics
7
Source: GLA ‘Draft Economic Evidence Base 2016’
7
London’s contemporary economic success relies on its historic connections with
the world, good transport and communications infrastructure, strong legal and
regulatory institutions and its ability to attract skilled knowledge workers. New
York and Tokyo are its only serious competitors for the position of world leading
financial centre, but that could change because the world economic balance of
power is shifting rapidly.
8
Between 2009 and 2050 the GDP of the G20 nations is expected to grow at an
annual rate of 3.5 percent from US$38.3 trillion to US$160 trillion in real dollar
terms. Over 60% of this expansion is expected to come from Brazil, Russia,
9
India, China, Indonesia and Mexico .
By that time China, India and the United States will have a total GDP 70%
10
greater than all the other G20 nations combined . Europe’s total share of G20
GPD will shrink from 24% in 2009 to 10% in 2050. The UK’s share will fall from
6% to 3% (see Table 1 below). Traditional Western powers like the UK will
remain the wealthiest nations in terms of per capita income, but will be
overtaken by poorer countries as the pre-eminent world economies.
In these circumstances, London is likely to become just one of many major

international financial centres and will be in danger of being overtaken by cities
like Shanghai and Mumbai which are located at the focus of growth in eastern
and southern Asia. Competition will be intense as the new international centres
move up the technological ladder and London seeks to keep one step ahead.
11
Table 1 - GDP Projections for the G20 Countries
The UK economy has improved its performance across the board in recent
years, but is not as competitive as some of its peers. The World Economic
12
Forum ranks it 10th position, a slip of one place from 2014-15 .
8
The Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors
was established in 1999 to bring together the major industrialized and
developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy.
9
The World Order in 2050. Carnegie Institute. February 2010,page 8.
10
Ibid. Page 9
11
Source: The World Order in 2050. Carnegie Institute, February 2010. Page 8
12
World Economic Forum. Global Competitiveness Report 2015-2016. Country
Rankings
8
Projections prepared by independent forecasters who monitor the London
economy show London experiencing a cyclical recovery following the recent
recession, followed by longer-term positive job growth thereafter. Only 13.2% of
the UK population lives in London, however the Capital accounts for 22.6% of
13
Gross Value Added .
Some of the biggest factors involved in the UK’s recent loss of competitiveness
are also centred on London. In 2014-2015 the World Economic Forum rated the
soundness of the UK’s banks as having climbed to 89th place among 144
countries surveyed. UK banks were in 44th spot just the previous year.
2.3 Regional Economic Structure

The Greater South East regions (comprised of London, the East and South East
regions) are responsible for 46.1% percent of GVA, 46 percent of the UK’s VAT
registered businesses and 54 percent of all private research and development
14
investment and 70% of all venture capital investment . The “mega city” region
centred on London contains 24 million people and commuters from outside the
15
Capital fill almost one in five of the city’s jobs . Essex and Kent to the east of
London tend to have the smallest local employment bases and the strongest
flows of commuters into London. Figure 1b below shows the breakdown of the
regional share of total UK GVA in 2014.
Figure 3: Regional share of UK GVA, 2014
13
Regional Gross Value Added (Income Approach), Statistical Bulletin, ONS, 9
December 2015
14
Ibid. Para 5.24.
15
Mayor’s Transport Strategy.GLA, May 2010. Pages 43 and 44
9
As an outer east London borough Redbridge is connected via the M11 to the
economic corridor stretching north to Stansted airport, Cambridge and beyond,
and via road and main line rail to Chelmsford and other large centres in
southern Essex and along the northern coast of the Thames Estuary.
Major investment is taking place in two housing growth corridors which impact
directly or indirectly on Redbridge:
The Thames Gateway Growth Corridor; and

The London-Stansted-Cambridge-Peterborough Corridor.
Like its transport system, London’s economy is radially structured. Central

London is the economic heart with the best transport accessibility and hosts the
headquarters of numerous multinational firms. It is home to one third of all jobs
in the capital and has the highest levels of productivity in the country. Office
16
floorspace is projected to increase significantly in the long-term .
Outside the central area, London’s economy is based around its 13

Metropolitan Centres (Redbridge is represented by Ilford) and other major
nodes of employment such as Heathrow. Lower level Major, District and Local
Centres complete the hierarchy.
17
Figure 4: Places which are Dominant in the London Economy
16
Ibid. Para 5.17
17
Source: Mayor’s Transport Strategy. GLA May 2010 .
10
2.4 Outer London Issues

Despite the economic dominance of central London, the 19 boroughs making
up outer London still account for 42% of the city’s jobs and 36% of its economic
output, but jobs growth has been far slower and large numbers of workers
commute to jobs in central London. Part of the reason for this is that outer
London was disproportionately hit by the steep fall in manufacturing
employment, but has been a less attractive focus for investment in financial and
professional services. There has been a decreasing requirement for office
18
floorspace in outer London with a significant volume of existing floorspace
being changed to residential uses.
Recent employment projections suggest a turn-around with an 11% increase in

outer London jobs over the next 20 years, with 71% of these being office
19
based . The 2009 London Office Policy Review projected office based
employment and floorspace demand growth from 2011 to 2031 as shown below
(table 2):
20
Table 2 - Office Employment and Floorspace Projections
Office based
employment
Net demand for
growth
Location office floorspace
% of total (million m2)
Total growth
Outer London 59,000 20 0.71

Inner London 67,000 22 0.80
Central Activity Zone and
North of the Isle of Dogs 177,000 58 2.12
London Total 303,000 100 3.6
There is also projected to be a need for between 450,000 square metres and
700,000 square metres of additional comparison retail floorspace in outer
London and between 50,000 square metres and 150,000 square metres of
21
convenience retail floorspace . Industrial employment is expected to continue
its historic decline. As discussed in Chapter 4, the new development will not be
spread evenly, but is likely to cluster in a handful of large outer London town
centres such as Stratford.
2.5 Redbridge in its London Context

Sub-regional Linkages
Redbridge is an outer London borough forming part of the East London Sub-
22
Region as defined in the London Plan . This also includes the boroughs of
Waltham Forest, Hackney, Havering, Barking and Dagenham, Newham,
Lewisham, Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Bexley as shown in Figure 3 below.
18
Outer London: Issues for the London Plan. GLA May 2007.
19
Ibid. Paras 1.20 and 1.21
20
Source: The London Plan. Mayor of London, March 2015 Page 155.
21
Outer London: Issues for the London Plan. GLA . May 2007.
22
Note:. The London Plan. GLA, March 2015.
11
Figure 5: London sub-regions
Figure 3
Figure 6 shows the top 10 places of work for employed Redbridge residents at
the time of the 2011 census. Along with Redbridge itself, these destinations
accounted for 78.8% of all Redbridge employees (99,641) in 2011. It is evident
from the table that boroughs towards central London were more important
sources of jobs than immediate neighbours.
23
Figure 6: Location of employment of Redbridge residents
Workplace destinations for other outer London locations display similar patterns
to those seen in Redbridge (see Figure 5 below). This shows how the sub-
regional economy is dominated by radial flows of labour between the outer
boroughs and central London, facilitated by good mainline rail, underground and
road links. The transport network closely mirrors the economic linkages. Via
these links, Redbridge and its neighbouring boroughs provide an important
supply of labour to central London.
23
Source: ONS 2011 Census (via NOMIS)
12
Figure 7: Commuting Patterns in and out of Redbridge
The Table below shows the origin and destination of trips made by
Redbridge residents.
Travel to Work Patterns
The distance and travel to work patterns of Redbridge residents provide an

interesting insight into how far people are willing to travel to get to work. Just
over 22,000 residents living in Redbridge choose to work in the borough,
however the majority of residents work outside the borough, notably in
Westminster, City of London.
24
Table 3 - The top ten places of work of Redbridge citizens :
Place of Work Number of Redbridge residents

working in location
Redbridge 22,053
Westminster, City of London 16,760
Tower Hamlets 8,766
Newham 7,676
Waltham Forest 5,237
Barking and Dagenham 4,611
Camden 4,238
Havering 3,760
Islington 2,842
Hackney 2,606
This highlights the large number of residents using public transport to travel
to work; reinforcing the importance of a strong and reliable public transport
network in and around the borough.
24
“Place of Residence by Place of Work,” www.data.london.gov.uk
13
25
Table 4 - Method of travel to work by distance travelled to work :
Distance All Work Train, Driving All other

travelled to categories: mainly underground, a car or methods
work Method of at or metro, light, van of travel
travel to work from rail, tram, to work
(2001 home bus, minibus
specification) or coach
All
categories:
Distance 125,362 11,183 56,563 44,310 13,306
travelled to
work
Less than
49,226 0 14,619 25,654 8,953
10km
10km to
less than 46,187 0 33,948 10,377 1,862
30km
30km and
4,305 0 1,581 2,386 338
over
Work
mainly at
11,183 11,183 0 0 0
or from
home
Other 14,461 0 6,415 5,893 2,153
Table 4 below shows the weekly pay of people who work in selected boroughs
versus the weekly pay of those who reside there. This reveals that the average
pay of people who work in the City of London, Tower Hamlets and Newham is
greater than the pay of people who reside there. The situation reverses for the
outer London boroughs of Havering, Redbridge and Waltham Forest. This
suggests that the outer London boroughs are benefiting by having many
residents who commute to better paying jobs in central London.
26
Table 5 - Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings
Median weekly full-

Median weekly full-time pay (£)
time pay (£) of
Borough people who work in borough
people who reside
(2014)
in borough (2014)
Barking & Dagenham 517.8 626.7
City of London n/a 928
Havering 614.8 542.1
Newham 509.4 558.6
Redbridge 621.6 551.5
Tower Hamlets 670.4 900.8
Waltham Forest 541.8 525.1
25
“Travel to work trends,” www.data.london.gov.uk
26
Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (via NOMIS)
14
Internationalised centre and self-contained periphery
Central London’s economy is heavily internationalised and highly productive

and the outer London boroughs engage with it by supplying skilled labour.
When it comes to labour markets, there are no self-contained boroughs or sub-
27
regional labour markets in London .
There can be little room for doubt that office markets in Outer London, with a
small number of exceptions, have been in long-term decline. While a number of
off-centre campuses have absorbed office growth in Inner London (e.g. More
London, London Bridge City and Paddington, and more recently King’s Cross,
Stratford and Waterloo), many corporate office jobs have left Outer London, and
it seems clear that there is a growing number of centres suffering high office
28
vacancy rates with little prospect of growth.
Falling job density
“Job density” is the number of full time jobs in an area divided by the resident
working age population. Reflecting the decline of their traditional manufacturing
base and their limited ability to attract office development, there has been a
29
tendency over time for the job density of all the outer boroughs to decline,
while that of Tower Hamlets has increased. The very high job density of the City
of London is also apparent in Table 6 below, and has increased overall since
2000 after being at a 7-year low in 2007. The low job density figure in
Redbridge may subsequently impact the numbers of both commuting and
30
workless individuals living in the borough .
The change in absolute numbers of jobs in each local authority between 1998
and 2008 is shown in Table 7 below. Because of population growth, some local
authorities including Redbridge have had an increase in absolute numbers of
jobs, despite the fall in job density.
27
Functional Economic Market Areas: An economic note. CLG, February 2010..
28
London Office Policy Review. Radimus Consulting Limited and Roger Tym &
Partners, September 2012. Page 49.
29
For current purposes Newham is being treated as an “outer” London borough
30
Outer London – Economic data and statistics, Greater London Authority,
March 2009
15
Table 6 - Job Density evolution in North East London and City of London
Barking and City of Tower Waltham

Year Havering Newham Redbridge
Dagenham London Hamlets Forest
Job Density (Number of jobs per working age resident)

2000 0.56 67.10 0.63 0.50 0.53 1.15 0.50
2001 0.52 59.14 0.63 0.48 0.52 1.21 0.46
2002 0.50 60.47 0.65 0.43 0.52 1.12 0.46
2003 0.53 61.91 0.66 0.45 0.52 1.13 0.46
2004 0.51 59.73 0.65 0.47 0.52 1.30 0.46
2005 0.51 61.26 0.63 0.49 0.51 1.31 0.50
2006 0.49 59.16 0.60 0.46 0.44 1.31 0.44
2007 0.49 57.98 0.56 0.44 0.46 1.30 0.42
2008 0.48 59.67 0.59 0.41 0.48 1.30 0.41
2009 0.42 61.72 0.54 0.41 0.45 1.23 0.41
2010 0.44 68.16 0.55 0.38 0.43 1.22 0.38
2011 0.45 75.79 0.55 0.41 0.42 1.32 0.40
2012 0.46 77.46 0.56 0.44 0.47 1.30 0.43
2013 0.44 81.79 0.60 0.47 0.45 1.34 0.45
Change
2000 to - 0.12 +14.69 - 0.03 - 0.03 - 0.08 + 0.19 - 0.05
2013
16
31
Table 7 Change in absolute number of jobs 1998-2014
Local Authority Number of Employees
1998 2011 2014

Barking and Dagenham 54,896 47,400 49,800
City of London 288,375 374,100 401,200
Havering 72,445 70,000 77,400
Newham 61,849 75,300 94,000
Redbridge 63,747 65,700 74,400
Tower Hamlets 123,158 233,000 256,700
Waltham Forest 57,175 57,700 70,700
31
Source: ONS Employee Job Estimates/Job Density (VIA NOMIS).
17
3 Redbridge Now
3.1 Strong Population Growth
In May 2014, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released revised mid-
2012-based population estimates for local authorities in England and Wales.
32
The Redbridge population estimate was 284,600 .
Employment rates of working age people
The working age population (all people aged 16-64) in the borough is 190,700
33
(2014); or 65.1% of the overall population .
Table 8 - Working age population (aged 16-64) (2014):
Redbridge Redbridge London (%) Great

(numbers) (%) Britain (%)
All people 190,700 65.1 68.2 63.5
aged 16-64
Males aged 16- 95,000 65.4 68.8 64.3
64
Females aged 95,800 64.8 67.6 62.8
16-64
Table 9 - Employment and Unemployment (2015):
Redbridge Redbridge London (%) Great

(numbers) (%) Britain (%)
Economically 144,800 74.0 77.4 77.5
active
In employment 132,300 67.5 72.2 73.1
Employees 106,600 54.7 59.3 62.5
Self-employed 25,700 12.8 12.5 10.1
Unemployed 10,400 7.3 6.6 5.7
The borough’s working age employment rate is 67.5% (132,300), compared

with London 72.2% and Great Britain 73.1%, placing Redbridge 4.7% below the
London average and 5.6% below the Great Britain average. Between December
2010 and June 2015, the employment rate in Redbridge increased from 64.6%
to 67.5%, an increase of 3.1%. This compares with an increase of 4.9% for
London as a whole and an increase of 2.9% for Great Britain over the same
period. The employment rate is higher for males (77.7%; 76,400), than for
females (57.3%; 55,800).
The working age employment rate for ethnic minorities in the borough is 62.2%,
with the unemployment rate at 10.2%. The employment rate is higher for ethnic
34
minority males at 75%, than for females at 49.8% .
32
Mid-Year Population Estimates for England and Wales. ONS May 2014 Mid
2012 Population Estimate.
33
Labour Market Profile – Redbridge (www.nomisweb.co.uk)
34
“Labour Market Profile – Redbridge,” www.nomisweb.co.uk
18
The working age employment rate for young people (aged 16 – 24) in
Redbridge is 40.3%, compared with 46% for London as a whole and 52.4% for
Great Britain. This places Redbridge 5.7% below the London average and
12.1% below the average for Great Britain. Between December 2010 and June
2015 the working age employment rate for young people in Redbridge
increased from 35.5% to 40.3%, an increase of 4.8%. This compares with a rise
35
of 5% for London as a whole and 2.2% for Great Britain .
The working age unemployment rate for young people in Redbridge is 25.3%,
compared with 18.9% for London as a whole and 15.7% for Great Britain. This
places Redbridge 6.4% above the London average and 9.6% above the Great
Britain average. Between December 2010 and June 2015 the working age
unemployment rate for young people in Redbridge increased from 21.5% to
25.3%, an increase of 3.8%. This compares with a decrease of 3.6% for London
36
as a whole and a decrease of 3.6% for Great Britain .
The employment rate for residents aged 50 – 64 is 74.8%; an increase of 12%

since December 2010 (62.8%). The employment rate is higher for males aged
50 – 64 (80.6%), than females (70.0%).The unemployment rate for residents
37
aged 50 – 64 is 3.9%. This has fallen from 6.6% in 2010 . As of May 2015, 680
38
JSA claimants in Redbridge were aged 50-64 .
The working age unemployment rate in the borough is 7.3% (10 400),
compared with London 6.6% and Great Britain 5.7%, which places Redbridge
0.7% above the London average and 1.6% above the Great Britain average.
Between December 2010 and June 2015, the unemployment rate in Redbridge
fell from 8.9% to 7.3%, a decrease of 1.6%. This compares with a decrease of
2.3% for London as a whole and a decrease of 1.9% for Great Britain over the
same period.
The unemployment rate is higher for females (11.8%; 7,500), than for males
39
(6.2%; 5,000) .
Self-employment
The percentage of the Redbridge workforce in self-employment is currently

12.8% (25,700) which represents an increase of 2.2% since October 2010. This
figure is above that of self-employment across London as a whole (12.5%), as
40
well as that of self-employment across Great Britain (10.1%) .
The economic inactivity rate in the borough is currently 26%, with just under one
fifth (17.7%) of those wanting a job. The economic inactivity rate has fallen by
3.8% since March 2010. The economic inactivity rate is higher for females
(34.7%) than for males (17.2%).The economic inactivity rate for ethnic
41
minorities is 30.7%. However, it is important to note that economic inactivity
figures can be skewed by the visa status of an individual and their subsequent
eligibility for work and training. Certain visas do not allow an individual to work,
or only allow an individual to work for a small number of hours a week; which in
turn impacts on their economic activity status. Most training courses also have
visa restrictions. There is therefore a gap in the market for organisations that
35
36
37
38
Department for Work and Pensions
39
40
41
19
support all those looking to find work or training and services such as Work
Redbridge, which has no eligibility restrictions, are increasingly important for
ensuring the economically inactive population and all those needing support are
able to access it.
Redbridge residents in apprenticeships and traineeships
Redbridge has a low take-up of apprenticeships and they are often still
regarded as less important than academic qualifications and academic routes
into employment.
Redbridge apprenticeship figures:
 Apprenticeship total starts: 243 (2012/13); 229 (2010/12);

42
Apprenticeship total achievements: 207 (2012/13); (2011/12)
The government has committed itself to delivering increased numbers of

apprenticeship opportunities to young people and the Mayor of London has set
43
a target of creating 250,000 apprenticeships by 2016. However, a 2015 Ofsted
Report on apprenticeships found that a third of apprenticeships surveyed were
failing to provide sufficiently high-quality training and the much-reported growth
in apprenticeships has been concentrated in service sectors where low-skilled
roles are being classified as apprenticeships. Notably for Redbridge, SMEs are
not sufficiently involved in developing new frameworks or in apprenticeship
provision more generally. There are still insufficient apprenticeships providing
the advanced, professional-level skills needed in the sectors with shortages;
something which would really benefit the borough’s economy. Crucially, the
number of 16 to 18 year olds being taken on as apprentices nationally is as low
today as it was a decade ago, with most new places going to the over-25s, who
44
often receive too little training while at work or during off-the job sessions .
Future population growth
If the Redbridge Community Infrastructure Plan 2011 estimates of homes with 3

and 4 habitable rooms are used as a fair average of the 2015 SHLAA 10-Year
estimate of 13,995 homes that will be constructed (with windfall), this produces
a total population increase of between 25,890 and 27,990 people by 2025
(based on 1.85 and 2.0 people per dwelling respectively as shown in table 10
below). This mirrors the 25,000 increase predicted in the Council’s Corporate
Strategy 2014-2018.
42
Apprenticeships Starts and Completions,” www.data.london.gov.uk
43
Mayor of London’s ’20:20 Vision’ (2015)
44
“Apprenticeships: Delivering Skills for Future Prosperity – Ofsted Survey,”
CSN Policy Briefing
20
45
Table 10: Number of persons per dwelling
People Per Dwelling Based on Number of Habitable Rooms
Number 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8+
of
Habitable
Rooms in
Dwelling
Average 1.48 1.70 1.85 2 2.64 2.76 3.22 3.52

Number
of people
per
dwelling
All London boroughs must now adhere to the Mayor’s internal space standards
for new dwellings which are stipulated within the London Plan March 2015
(FALP). We set out in table 11 below these standards.
46
Table 11: London Plan space standards
Dwelling
Persons & Beds GIA (sq.m)
Type
Flats 1p 37
1b2p 50
2b3p 61
2b4p 70
3b4p 74
3b5p 86
3b6p 95
4b5p 90
4b6p 99
2-storey 2b4p 83
houses
3b4p 87
3b5p 96
4b5p 100
4b6p 107
3-storey 3b5p 102
houses
4b5p 106
4b6p 113
45
Redbridge Community Infrastructure Plan January 2011 update. London
Borough of Redbridge January 2011. S. 5
46
The London Plan March 2015 – Page 116; Table 3.3
21
The GLA also makes “high” and “low” end population projections which take
account of the actual rate of housing construction in each borough. The “high”
projection is for the population to hit 302,047 by 2016 and 365,240 by 2031.
The “low” projection has the population reaching 265,300 in 2016 and 274,000
47
by 2031 . These figures are challenged by the ONS revisions. The 2011
census confirmed expectations that population growth is far outstripping
expectations, posing a major challenge for future housing and community
infrastructure delivery.
By further analysing these population projections, it is evident that growth is

expected to occur in all age categories. Figures 8 and 9 show that there will be
a small but significant increase in the number of fewer than 14s which is likely to
lead to increased demand on school places and other local authority support
services. Of greater significance is the population growth in the over 60 age
category. The dependency of these individuals on local authority services may
lead to a greater strain on provision, particularly within the current economic
climate and further expected public sector cutbacks. These individuals will also
begin to leave the labour market as they reach retirement age, which will have a
significant effect on the local economy, with dependency both on economically
active individuals and on local authority services.
48
Figure 8: Population Projection
47
GLA 2008 Round Demographic Projections. March 2009.
48
GLA Trend-Based, Short-Term Migration Scenario Population Projections
(April 2015)
22
Figure 9b: Redbridge population projections by age
3.2 Housing
As noted in the previous chapter, economic growth within Redbridge is led by
housing and around 63.6%% of the housing stock in Redbridge is owner
occupied. This compares with a London average of 49.5%% and a national
average of 64.0%. These figures from the 2011 Census reflect the first
decrease in UK-wide home ownership rates in a century.
The 2011 Census revealed that the average household size was 2.8 people.
Wards to the south of the Borough have the highest number of people per
household, exceeding the average figure for London, which is 2.5 people per
household. Clementswood has the highest rate of 3.3 people per household
whilst Snaresbrook has the lowest in the Borough with 2.2 people per
household. Figure 10 below shows the number of dwelling completions by type
of developer for Redbridge from 1980/81 to 2014/15. Over the period 1980/81
to 2014/15, the average number of units completed from all sources was 429
per annum. Following the housing market recession from 2008 to 2011, when
completions fell to a low of 100 units per annum, completions have since
recovered to exceed the medium term average of 429 units per annum in the
three years to 2014/15.
23
49
Figure 10 - Redbridge Housing Completions by type of developer
1980/81 to 2014/15
At October 2013 the average price of a home in Redbridge was £313,288. By

February 2016 it has risen to £409,629, steadily increasing month on month
over the intervening period with no noticeable drops in the average price. As of
February 2016, average prices in Redbridge remain above the average price of
a home in Barking and Dagenham (£326,461), Havering (£361,331), Newham
(£345,767). Waltham Forest has seen the sharpest increase in average house
price compared to the other areas with the average price of a home, as at
February 2016, being £425,358. Getting started on the housing ladder remains
beyond the reach of many people in Redbridge.
Figure 11: House Price and Sales Volume in Redbridge September 2013 to
50
August 2015
49
Source: Community Infrastructure Plan January 2011 Update. London
Borough of Redbridge, January 2011. Appendix 1.
50
Source: House Price Index, Land Registry, November 2015
24
The 2013-14 Redbridge Monitoring Report for Housing Needs and
Requirements identified a total requirement of 10,153 homes over the next 5
years. Of this, the market Housing requirement is 923 homes, the intermediate
requirement is 5,335 homes, whilst the social rented housing requirement is
51
3,895 homes.
Table 12 below shows the gradual increase of land values over recent years in
Redbridge. The data below is based on the Savills Development Land Index
which indexes values relative to the peak achieved in 2007 before the onset of
the global financial crisis. The basis of the 2007 base values are taken from the
VOA’s previous Property Market Report publications.
52
Table 12: - Redbridge Residential Land Values
September September September September

Type of Land 2012 2013 2014 2015
(£ hectare) (£ hectare) (£ hectare) (£ hectare)
Small sites
£6,138,000 £7,006,000 £7,688,000 £7,688,000
(<5 houses)
Bulk land
£5,172,750 £5,904,240 £6,479,000 £6,479,000
(2< hectares)
Sites for flats £6,657,750 £7,599,250 £8,339,000 £8,339,000
Education
Redbridge has high performing schools and consistently high percentages of

pupils achieving good examination results. In 2014, 77.1% of end of key stage
four pupils achieved five or more A* - C grades at GCSE, and 68.7% of pupils
achieved five or more A* - C grades at GCSE; including English and
Mathematics.
Redbridge schools routinely see high numbers of school leavers progressing to

Higher Education, and in 2012 the borough had the highest number of school
53
leavers going to university in the country . In 2013, 69% of school leavers went
on to study at a UK higher education institution (‘HEI’); including 33% at the top
third of HEIs.
Health
In the 2011 Census, a higher percentage of Redbridge residents (48.1%)

considered themselves to be in very good health than for the country as a whole
(47.1%), although the figure was lower than for London as a region (50.5%). A
lower percentage of Redbridge residents (1.1%) considered themselves in very
bad health compared to both the country as a whole (1.3%) and London as a
region (1.2%).
In 2010-12, the healthy life expectancy at birth for males in the borough was 66
and 62.9 for females. This compares to 65.5 for Redbridge males in 2009-11
and 62.4 for females.
51
Redbridge Monitoring Report for Housing Needs and Requirements
52
Property Market Report, Valuation Office Agency, January 2007 (baseline
index point); and, Savills Development Land Index (Savills research) 2016.
53
London Borough of Redbridge Fairness Commission
25
Deprivation
Based on the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2015, Redbridge as a whole is the

th
178 most deprived local authority district (out of the 326 Local Authority
th
Districts), falling from 125 place in 2010.
The south of the borough has inner city features, notably around Ilford. This is
alongside less densely-populated, more affluent areas in the north of the
borough. The most deprived areas of the borough are therefore located in the
south, with Clementswood and Loxford the two most deprived wards, and the
least deprived areas being located in the North West, with Monkhams the least
deprived ward (based on rank of average score within London - see table below
for indices of deprivation rank).
In percentage terms, Redbridge has seen a decrease in the number of children

under 16 living in poverty. In 2012 this was at 19.3%; a fall of 5.7% from 2010
(25%). This figure corresponds to numbers of children aged under 16 living in
low income families who are in receipt of out of work benefits or tax credits. The
54
figure for London as a whole in 2012 was 23.7%.
In 2015, 14.6% of pupils at maintained nursery and primary schools in the

borough were known to be eligible for and claiming free meals. This figure has
fallen from 18.2% in 2010, and is below the Outer London average of 15%
55
(2015).
In 2015, 17.3% of pupils were known to be eligible for and claiming free school
meals in maintained secondary schools. This figure has fallen from 16.4% in
56
2010, and is below the Outer London average of 14.8% (2015).
A new method of measuring child poverty is to be introduced under the

Conservative government, which is reported to focus on the root causes of
poverty and includes factors such as educational achievement, living in a
workless household and income. This is likely to impact on child poverty
statistics, but is important that associated issues continue to be prioritised and
appropriately tackled.
In 2012, 10.8% of Redbridge households were experiencing fuel poverty,

meaning they were unable to keep their home adequately heated. (The
percentage of households in an area that experience fuel poverty based on the
"Low income, high cost" methodology.) 48 088 Redbridge citizens were income
57
deprived; meaning they were either out-of-work or in low-paid work.
3.3 Industries in which Redbridge Residents Work
In 2014 69.4% of the working age population were in employment (13.5% being
self-employed and 55.7% working for someone else) and 6.8% were
unemployed. Employment rates were higher for men (78.6%) than for women
(60.3%) and the rate for ethnic minorities was 66.3%.
54
“Children in Poverty,” www.data.london.gov.uk
55
“Pupils Eligible for Free School Meals,” www.data.london.gov.uk
56
“Pupils Eligible for Free School Meals,” www.data.london.gov.uk
57
“Pupil Health Outcomes Framework Indicators,” www.data.london.gov.uk
26
58
Table 13: Employee Jobs (2014)
Redbridge Redbridge London Great

(employee (%) (%) Britain
jobs) (%)
Total employee jobs 74,400 - - -
Full-time 49,200 66.2 73.8 68.3
Part-time 25,100 33.8 26.2 31.7
In 2014 there were approximately 74,400 jobs in Redbridge; the majority

(66.2%) being full-time.
59
Table 14: Employment by Occupation (2015)

(numbers) (%) (%) Britain
(%)
Major group 1 65,300 49.6 53.2 44.3
Managers, Directors 14,800 11.2 11.6 10.3
and Senior Officials
Professional 30,200 22.8 23.6 19.7
Occupations
Associate Professional 20,300 15.4 17.6 14.0
and Technical
Major group 2 26,900 20.5 17.7 21.5
Administrative and 17,800 13.4 10.2 10.6
Secretarial
Skilled Trade 9,100 6.9 7.5 10.7
Occupations
Major group 3 20,400 15.5 14.9 17.1
Caring, Leisure and 8,600 6.5 7.9 9.2
Other Service
Occupations
Sales and customer 11,800 8.9 6.9 7.7
Service Ocs
Major group 4 18,900 14.4 14.2 17.2
Process Plant & 7,700 5.8 4.3 6.3
Machine Operatives
Elementary 11,200 8.5 9.8 10.8
Occupations
58
59
27
60
Table 15: Employee jobs by Industry (2014)

(employee (%) (%) Britain
jobs) (%)
Primary Services 0 0.0 0.1 0.4
(agriculture and mining)
Energy and water 200 0.3 0.5 1.1
Manufacturing 1,800 2.4 2.4 8.5
Construction 4,000 5.4 3.1 4.5
Services 68,400 91.9 94.0 85.6
Wholesale and Retail 11,800 15.9 12.6 15.9
Transport storage 2,700 3.7 4.8 4.5
Accommodation and Food 4,200 5.7 7.6 7.1
Services
Information and 4,000 5.4 7.9 4.1
Communication
Financial and other 14,700 19.8 33.0 22.2
Business Services
Public Admin, Education 27,400 36.8 23.0 27.4
and Health
Other Services 3,500 4.7 5.1 4.4
Despite significant public sector cuts, and in parallel with the last plan, the vast
majority of Redbridge jobs (91.9%) are within service industries and 36.8% (27
400) of these service industry jobs are in public administration, education and
health. This is 14.2% above the percentage of public administration, education
and health sectors jobs in the whole of London (22.6%) and 8.8% above the
percentage of such jobs for Great Britain (28%).
The pattern of employment in Redbridge by broad industry group in 2014 as

reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) is shown below:
Figure 12: Employees by sector
60
28
We note that all sectors to the right of the “Services” bar in the graph above
accumulatively equal the total number of employees within Services.
The largest numbers of residents work in the Public Admin, Education and
Health sector with 27,400 employed in this sector.
Table 17 (overleaf) shows the employee jobs by industry, broken down by ward
in 2008. The largest labour market is Clementswood ward, which is dominated
by public sector employment. This is followed by Valentines, Seven Kings and
Newbury. Due to the fact that significant numbers of the Redbridge workforce
are employed in public administration, education and health industries, the
impending public sector cuts are likely to have a notable impact across the
borough, but particularly in the wards of Clementswood, Seven Kings and
Newbury, where the largest numbers are employed within the public sector.
61
Table 16 - Employee by industry per ward 2011
Administrative Associated
Professional
Ward & Sectorial Professional &
(%)
(%) Technical (%)
Aldborough 22.2 14.3 12.5

Barkingside 24.7 16 12.5
Bridge 20.8 15.3 14.3
Chadwell 20 15.4 13.4
Church End 30.1 19.4 13.3
Clayhall 24.7 15.3 13.5
Clementswood 20.3 13.2 12.5
Cranbrook 24 13.4 13.09
Fairlop 17.2 16.3 14
Fullwell 17.7 15.3 13.1
Goodmayes 19.7 13.6 11.5
Hainault 14.9 14.6 12.6
Loxford 18.1 14.8 14.5
Mayfield 18 15 11.5
Monkhams 28.3 17.3 16.3
Newbury 21.8 14.5 11.2
Roding 25.2 14.9 13.09
Seven Kings 20.8 13.2 11.4
Snaresbrook 33.3 19.1 14.4
Valentines 25.1 13.1 11.3
Wanstead 32.3 15.3 13.2
The largest employers in Redbridge (by number of employees) are the London
Borough of Redbridge (2,600 employees), Barking, Havering & Redbridge NHS
Trust (1,000 employees), Kapa Limited (800 employees), the Metropolitan Police
(700 employees), Interserve Facilities Services (650 employees), M&S On Time
62
Limited (650 employees) and Barnardos (600 employees) .
61
Source: ONS: Ward Profiles – Local Labour Market Area Comparison 2011
62
Redbridge Economic Strategy Development – Baseline (2016)
29
Employment in the various sectors is not evenly distributed across the borough.
The Central and Crossrail sub-areas rely heavily on roles in the public sector,
accounting for 41% and 45% of all jobs respectively. In the Hainault sub-area,
there is a high concentration of roles in advanced manufacturing and construction,
and in wholesale and retail. In Ilford, there is a high concentration of roles in
information and communications technology, as well as business and professional
services. Wanstead and Woodford also has concentrations of information and
63
communications technology as well as manufacturing and construction .
Table 18 overleaf shows the Employment Statistics by Ward within Redbridge. In a

later section of this report, Job Seekers’ Allowance (‘JSA’) claimant rates of wards
are also considered. However, it is important to remember that that unemployment
levels and JSA claimant rates are not necessarily reflective of each other, although
they can be used as “rough” gauges of the other. The data in the table below is
from 2011 (as no more recent data is available on a Ward level basis at the time of
writing). JSA claimant rate data (presented in a later section) is however available
from 2014.
64
Table 17 - Employment Statistics by Wards
As a % of Economically
Ward Unemployed
Active Persons
Aldborough 657 9.4
Barkingside 538 8.9
Bridge 458 7.5
Chadwell 704 10
Church End 343 5.1
Clayhall 511 8.2
Clementswood 926 14.5
Cranbrook 618 10.4
Fairlop 476 7.5
Fullwell 554 9.3
Goodmayes 771 12.5
Hainault 626 10.6
Loxford 1,141 16.9
Mayfield 705 11.3
Monkhams 218 4.2
Newbury 838 10.8
Roding 492 7.6
Seven Kings 891 12.8
Snaresbrook 322 4.9
Valentines 874 13.2
Wanstead 346 5.7
The highest rates of unemployment as a percentage of those economically

active residing in the ward are seen within those Wards situated in the south-
eastern quarter of the Borough. These being Chadwell, Clementswood,
Goodmayes, Loxford, Mayfield, Newbury, Seven Kings and Valentines.
However, both Cranbrook and Hainault also show high levels of unemployment.
63
Ibid
64
Source: ONS: Labour Market Profile 2014 – Redbridge
30
3.4 Industries in which people work in Redbridge

In 2014 there were a total of 74,400 people employed within industries in
Redbridge. Figure 13 shows the number of businesses by each industry present
in the borough.
65
Figure 13 – Industries in Redbridge 2016
The top three industries in Redbridge are construction, retail and professional
66
and scientific & technical with more than 1000 businesses in each . Although
the number of public administration and defence industries is relatively low, as
previously outlined, these industries employ the largest numbers of employees.
The UK government continues to aspire for the British economy to remain one
of the most powerful economies in the world. This can be achieved by
supporting new and innovative sectors that can provide a “knowledge base”
economy. Future investments are likely to be made in sectors such as
67
technology, science and financial services . Redbridge is therefore well placed
to benefit from this focus, particularly with large numbers of scientific and
technical industries.
The Hainault Business Improvement District in particular, contains 160

companies (at 2011) and has been identified as a major manufacturing area in
the London plan. The continued growth of this District will provide significant
benefits to the borough, notably in terms of supply chains and the use of local
manufacturers by local businesses.
65
Source: Redbridge Economic Strategy Baseline (2016)
66
Redbridge Economic Strategy Baseline (2016)
67
Building Britain’s Future, HMG, June 2009. Chapter 3 [Investing for the Future: Building
Tomorrow’s Economy Today]
31
68
Table 18: Businesses by sub-areas
Area No of % of all Change 2010 to

businesses business in 2015
Redbridge
Central 1,800 19% +64%
Crossrail corridor 2,100 22% +89%
Hainault 1,000 10% +48%
Ilford 1,900 20% +54%
Wanstead & 2,900 30% +48%
Woodford
All Redbridge 12,600 100% +47%
Figure 14 below shows how employment patterns within Redbridge changed

between 2009 and 2015. Figure 15 shows employment at 2015. Data for 2014
is shown in an individual graph (15) due to the industry groups having been
changed.
69
Figure 14- Change in Employment in Redbridge 2009-2015
68
69
32
70
Figure 15 – Employment in Redbridge 2015
Employment in manufacturing, construction, wholesale and retail trade and

banking and finance became less significant over the decade, while transport
and communications and public sector employment all became more important.
It is likely that many of the people in the transport and communications sector
also worked directly or indirectly for Government, providing the various public
transport services. Consequently, public spending probably accounted for well
over 40% of all employment in Redbridge in 2008. The trend over time has
been for the local employment base to narrow and for job creation in Redbridge
to rely more and more on public spending.
The table below shows the median weekly gross pay in London’s boroughs.
Redbridge residents’ weekly pay is significantly higher than the UK average.
70
33
Table 19 - Weekly pay – Gross 2013
Weekly Pay (£ Weekly Pay (£

Borough Gross) Borough Gross)
Barking and 534.5 Hounslow 565.7

Barnet
Dagenham 629.8 Islington 670.8
Bexley 612.7 Kensington and Chelsea 762.8
Brent 551.4 Kingston upon Thames 701.9
Bromley 681.0 Lambeth 621.5
Camden 719.8 Lewisham 606.4
City of London 864.7 Merton 622.4
Croydon 602.8 Newham 505.5
Ealing 562.2 Redbridge 652.5
Enfield 564.0 Richmond upon Thames 744.2
Greenwich 601.0 Southwark 644.2
Hackney 603.4 Sutton 605.9
Hammersmith and 686.1 Tower Hamlets 637.0
Haringey
Fulham 576.6 Waltham Forest 546.1
Harrow 625.7 Wandsworth 718.5
Havering 626.3 Westminster 764.4
Hillingdon 605.5 UK average 527.7
3.5 Business Investment and Growth

Redbridge is a borough of micro businesses. In 2015 some 93.5% (10,825) of
the borough’s 11,575 total businesses were classed as micro businesses and
had fewer than 10 employees. This is an increase of nearly 4,000 micro
71
businesses since 2010 .
However, Redbridge has high rates of both business formation and failure,
commonly referred to as business ‘churn.’ In 2013 there were 2,430 enterprise
72
‘births’, 1,525 enterprise ‘deaths’ and 12,085 active enterprises . Business
survival rates are relatively low, with around 36% of businesses surviving the
first five years of trade, which is slightly lower than the London average of
73
37% .
74
Table 20 - UK Business Counts (2015) :
Redbridge Redbridge London London (%)

(numbers) (%) (numbers)
Micro (0 to 10 825 93.5 400,710 90.1
9)
Small (10 to 655 5.7 35,500 8.0
49)
Medium (50 80 0.7 6,780 1.5
to 249)
Large (250+) 20 0.2 1,890 0.4
Total 11,575 - 444,880 -
71
“Labour Market Profile – Redbridge,” www.nomisweb.co.uk and Redbridge
Economic Strategy Baseline (2016)
72
“Business Demographics and Survival Rates,” www.data.london.gov.uk
73
74
34
75
Figure 16: Company Employment size in Redbridge
In order to sustain these micro-businesses local providers offer a range of

support and one-to-one business advice for small and medium sized
enterprises (SMEs). Recent research shows that new start-up businesses
would prefer to receive advice from a successful business person who has gone
through the same process of setting up a business and can share experience
and knowledge in a more effective and tailored way than perhaps a dedicated
76
advisor. Recent feedback from providers has shown that although new start-
up businesses often need significant amounts of support, many well established
businesses are now seeking business support, particularly in improving their
marketing techniques, website designs and customer service.
Furthermore the Council is also developing different programmes with its

partners to promote social enterprise throughout the borough in order to create
sustainable businesses and make Redbridge an even more competitive
entrepreneurial borough. Redbridge is working with North East London
Strategic Alliance (NELSA) and the London- Stansted-Cambridge Consortium
(LSCC) to open up new partnership opportunities and employment opportunities
for Redbridge residents. A number of organised business networks are also
active in the Borough which provide services such as developing new business-
to-business contacts as well as other general networking advice for new start-
77
ups.
Large businesses (though few in number) still account for a large share of total
employment (Figure 14).
75
Labour Market Profile – Redbridge (via NOMIS)
76
Business Support in Redbridge: A report to the Redbridge Chamber of
Commerce, page 6
77
Business Support Feasibility Study: A report to the Redbridge Chamber of
Commerce, page 14
35
Figure 17: Number of employees for each size of business in Redbridge
78
2015
Redbridge has high rates of both business formation and failure (sometimes
called “churn”). Between 2004 and 2010, the average net increase in business
births v. business deaths was 150 businesses per year. However, from 2011
and onwards to 2013, the net annual increase in businesses in Redbridge has
increased considerably with an average of 583 additional businesses per year.
Indeed, a significant increase on the previous year was recorded in 2013, with a
net increase of 905 businesses. This is shown in Figure 18 below.
79
Figure 18 Redbridge Business Churn
78
Source: ONS UK Business Count (2015)
79
Source: Redbridge Borough Profile November 2015, page 179
36
80
Table 21 - Business Demography
2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Birth of new 1,485 1,525 1,770 1,825 2,430

enterprise
Death of enterprise 1,450 1,365 1,175 1,575 1,525
Count of Active 9,435 10,095 10,475 11,240 12,085
enterprises
Table 22 shows the survival rate of start-up businesses in Redbridge from 2008
to 2012. The highest rates of survival are in the first year. In 2012, only 36.3%
of businesses that started up between 2003 and 2008 had survived. This is
lower than the 37.1% London average or 46.6% 41.2% national average.
81
Table 22 - Business Survival 2008-2012
Business survival
Year
of birth
Births 1 Year 1 Year 2 Year 2 Year 3 Year 3 Year 4 Year 4 Year 5 Year 5 Year
Survival % Survival % Survival % Survival % Survival %
2008 1,420 1,320 93.0 1,005 70.8 735 51.8 625 44.0 515 36.3
2009 1,485 1,290 86.9 1,035 69.7 800 53.9 640 43.1 .. ..
2010 1,525 1,315 86.2 1,065 69.8 805 52.8 .. .. .. ..
2011 1,770 1,670 94.4 1,325 74.9 .. .. .. .. .. ..
2012 1,825 1,660 91.0 .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ..
80
ONS Business Demography 2013
81
ONS Business Demography 2013
37
3.6 Barriers to Business Success

The 2014 London Annual Business Survey ranks the main constraints to
business growth in London, based on a survey of businesses in the capital.
Table 19 ranks the constraints in order of importance across London as a whole
and within north east London.
The factors identified are echoed in the Redbridge Economic Strategy Baseline
(2016) which identifies the key constraints to business growth as follows, in the
order of relative importance:
Government regulations
Availability of skilled labour
Cost of premises
Transport within London
Cost of labour; availability of affordable premises; crime
Transport in and out of the Borough
Size of premises
Proximity to customers
Access to finance
Proximity to suppliers.
82
Table 23 - Constraints to Business Growth 2014
Constraint on Business Rank (1= most important)

Whole of North East
London London
Government regulations 1 1
Transport within London 2 4
Cost of premises 3 3
Availability of skilled 4 2
employeesin and out of London
Transport 5 8
Cost of labour 6 5/6/7
Availability of affordable 7 5/6/7
housing
Crime 8 5/6/7
Size of premises 9 9
Proximity to customers or 10 10/11
clients
Proximity of other companies 11 10/11
in same
Access
sector to finance 12 12
Proximity to suppliers 13 13
3.7 Worklessness Assessment83

Unemployment and JSA claimants
Redbridge has been subject to different trends in Job Seekers Allowance

(‘JSA’) claimants since 2008. Between January 2009 and January 2010 the
increase was 29.39% to 6,780. Between January 2010 and January 2011 there
was a decrease of 4.06% before a further increase of 10.68% between January
2011 and January 2012. From January 2012 to the same month in 2013, there
82
Sources: London Annual Business Survey,2014 LDA and Sources of
Endogenous Growth in Outer London: A Case Study for North East
London(should now be “East”), LDA September 2014.
38
was a decrease of 8.19% proceeded by further decreases of 28.82% and
30.5% January 2013 to January 2014 and January 2014 to January 2015
respectively. The number of claimants at January 2015 in Redbridge was 3,270.
By October 2015 this had fallen by a further 14.22% to 2,805. The highest
number of claimants in the borough between January 2008 and October 2015
was in the month of September 2011, when there were 7,580 (Nomis December
2015).
84
Figure 19: Male unemployment (ages 16-64)
85
Figure 20: Female unemployment (ages 16-64)
84
85
39
Table 24 - JSA claimants in Redbridge wards – highest and lowest, August
2008 - October 2015
Claimant count in Claimant count Claimant count in

Redbridge Aug 08 (Number of Redbridge in Jan 09 Redbridge Oct 15 (Number
Persons) (Number of Persons) of Persons)
Highest four wards
Loxford 356 Loxford 421 Loxford 285
Valentines 360 Valentines 407 Valentines 175
Clementswood 312 Clementswood 370 Clementswood 185
Newbury 269 Goodmayes 323 Newbury 170
Lowest four wards
Monkhams 37 Monkhams 99 Monkhams 55
Church End 82 Snaresbrook 151 Snaresbrook 80
Snaresbrook 95 Church End 156 Wanstead 75
Wanstead 103 Wanstead 161 Clayhall 70
Figure 21: Resident Population JSA Claimant Borough Comparison
The wards with persistently high numbers of JSA claimants have experienced
rises in numbers during the recession but many were long term unemployed
and were already out of work before the downturn. The more affluent parts of
the borough have suffered from higher rises in unemployment as residents
there were more likely to work in the financial services sector in central London
and were disproportionately likely to be made newly redundant.
40
86
Table 25 - JSA Claimants
JSA Stock
Total Aged 16-14 Aged 25-49 Aged 50-64
(Date)
November 2014 3,505 845 1,985 680
January 2015 3,270 635 1,950 685
February 2015 3,215 660 1,880 675
March 2015 3,145 645 1,835 665
April 2015 3,065 585 1,805 670
May 2015 3,140 610 1,850 680
June 2015 3,000 580 1,765 655
July 2015 2,945 590 1,690 660
August 2015 2,900 620 1,620 660
September 2015 2,900 630 1,605 670
October 2015 2,805 560 1,555 690
Claimant numbers, on the whole, have fallen from month to month since
November 2014 to October 2015 across all age groups except for the 50-64
age group which has remained relatively unchanged since November 2014 –
albeit that it has risen by 1.4%. The concern with the number of claimants in the
50-64 age group is that they often find it more difficult to return to employment
and may not have the skill set organisations required. Where these individuals
remain out of employment for long periods they become more dependent on
public services and support. With increasing retirement ages, this could see
some individuals out of work for well over 10 years.
Although Redbridge has a high level of educational attainment, there is concern

nationally that the number of employment opportunities for those individuals
who have recently completed a degree have significantly reduced which may
lead to higher dependency on parents, for example, to support them whilst they
seek employment.
An internal JCP document (Labour Market Bulletin for Redbridge 2010) showed
that although the overall employment rate was 67.9% for the borough, the rate
was 73.5% where ethnicity was stated as “white” but 63.7% where ethnicity was
stated as “ethnic minority”.
Table 26 - Redbridge JSA Claimants by ethnicity
Month/ Total % white % ethnic % prefer not Unknown

year claimants minority to say
Sep 08 4,555 35.23 54.33 7.9 2.52
Sep 09 7,315 36.43 54.27 6.76 2.52
According to the 2011 Census 42.5% of the population classify themselves as

White, with 57.5% classifying themselves as from Black and ethnic minority
groups. 16.4% of the population is Indian, 8.9% is Black, 11.1% is Pakistani and
5.7% is Bangladeshi.
86
Source: Jobseeker’s Allowance by age and duration with proportions,
NOMIS, December 2015
41
Barriers to Employment
DWP figures indicate that 8 400 Redbridge citizens were claiming ESA in May
2015, and those claiming, who are unable to work due to illness or disability,
face barriers in accessing training and employment. More co-ordinated, joined-
up help and advice will need to be provided to support ESA claimants into work
and increase awareness and understanding of employee health issues amongst
businesses and employers.
Childcare barriers are regularly cited by jobcentreplus clients as a barrier to

both seeking and gaining employment. One of the reasons for this difference
could be the fact that there are 32,900 women aged 16-64 that are
economically inactive in the borough, who may have chosen to take care of
their children themselves thus not requiring childcare provision (2014-2015).
The costs of childcare are likely to be a determining factor in women’s decisions

regarding returning to work following a period of maternity leave. Recent
research by the Family and Childcare Trust indicates that the cost of childcare
has increased at levels well above inflation and average earnings. A part time
nursery place for a child under two years old increased by 33% over the last
87
parliament .
88
Table 27 - Economically Inactive persons in Redbridge 2014-2015
Number Percent
Females who are economically inactive 32,900 34.7
- aged 16-64
Economically inactive 49,100 26.0

- aged 16-64
The Childcare Provider Survey on the Childcare Market details different

statistics. There was a disparity between the views of childcare providers and
members of the public regarding the amount of childcare provision locally,
however the development of new childcare places should take into account
89
existing childcare provision The reason for the disparity in comments may be
due largely to views on affordability. Although there is a large amount of
provision across the borough, those seeking employment may be unable to find
local provision that is affordable.
87
Family and Childcare Trust: Childcare Costs Survey 2015, as cited in
88
NOMIS, Annual Population Survey 2015
89
Childcare Provider Audit Questionnaires, October 2009
42
Education
Redbridge was rated one of the highest performing local education authorities in
90
Britain by the Observer newspaper . The borough continues to promote
education as a lifelong opportunity and invests in education facilities and
programs for all its residents.
91
Figure 22: Participation in higher education
Different services for career advice, support and guidance are available for
young people aged 13 to 19 years old. Working together these providers offer
information, advice and guidance about choice of career, employment and
training, support with CVs and interview skills.
Skill Levels
The draft Employment, Skills and Enterprise Plan for Redbridge contains an
assessment of the reasons people are out of work and this identified the level of
skill as the major issue in accessing employment opportunities.
A key challenge for Redbridge is to increase the proportion of young people

who achieve a level 3 qualification, who then go on to post-compulsory
education and widening access to higher education for local residents
generally.
90
http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2007/oct/18/schools.uk2- is there
nothing more recent than this ?
91
43
Table 28 - Skill levels as a percentage of the working age population
92
(2014)
Redbridge (%) London (%) Great Britain

Level 4+ 45.0 49.1 (%) 36.0
Level 3+ 61.6 64.7 56.7
Level 2+ 72.9 76.4 73.3
Level 1+ 81.8 84.2 85.0
No qualifications 8.9 7.8 8.8
Skills and qualification levels of population

93
Table 29 - Qualifications (2014) :
Individual levels Redbridge Redbridge London Great

(level) (%) (%) Britain (%)
NVQ4 and above 84,800 45.0 49.1 36.0
NVQ3 and above 116,100 61.6 64.7 56.7
NVQ2 and above 137,400 72.9 76.4 73.3
NVQ1 and above 154,100 81.8 84.2 85.0
Other qualifications 17,600 9.3 8.0 6.2
No qualifications 16,700 8.9 7.8 8.8
The borough has a relatively highly skilled population. 45% of residents are
qualified to NVQ Level 4 and above, equivalent to degree level. This is lower
than the London average (49.1%), but higher than the national average
(36%).However, it is noteworthy that this represents a significant reduction from
2013, when 49.2% of the population were qualified to NVQ Level 4 and above.
Despite the relatively high number of people with NVQ Level 4 qualifications,
there are still high numbers of people in the borough with no qualifications. In
2014 8.9% of residents had no qualifications. Those with no qualifications had
gone down considerably in 2013 to 6.8%, but 2014 saw the number increasing
94
again .
There is an increasing need for collaborative working to ensure growing

industries and sectors across the borough are identified and training and skill
sets are matched to these growth areas and existing employment opportunities.
95
In 2013, 24% of Redbridge employers reported skills gaps in their workforce.
Addressing the skills shortage will become increasingly relevant as the demand
for higher skills is likely to grow.
It is now necessary to rethink the local Redbridge economy with the public
sector, historically a major source of employment, as a marginal player and
place a much greater focus on the local growth sectors.
Redbridge is experiencing increasing demand in personal care, residential and
92
Source: NOMIS – Labour Market Profile - Redbridge
93
94
95
“LSCC June 2014 Skills Report,” www.lscc.co
44
nursing care, civil engineering and construction, hospitality and entertainment
and catering and we must ensure training providers are offering training
appropriate to these growth sectors. The success of local sector strategies can
give a significant boost to the local economy and the retail and business support
services are experiencing growth in Outer London boroughs, such as
Redbridge.
Feedback from businesses as well as employability support providers has

asserted that many individuals seeking employment do not have the appropriate
‘employability skills’ to ensure recruitment success. These include time
management skills, communication and presentation skills. Where many have
been out of work for significant periods of time, or have not had relevant work
experience, they are finding that despite reaching the interview stages of
recruitment campaigns, they are not deemed ‘job ready’ by employers. Directly
linked to this is the fact that many have lost confidence in themselves as a
result of being unemployed for significant periods or for being deemed to lack
the appropriate qualifications necessary for a particular job. There is therefore a
need to improve employability skills training, as well as continue to work with
those individuals who require additional confidence building.
Additional feedback from businesses has also made clear many individuals lack
basic ICT skills, which are increasingly becoming a basic requirement of many
employment positions. Although there are a variety of providers of ICT training
within the borough, many are costly or at inconvenient times, especially for
parents. More training providers are beginning to offer free basic ICT skills
certificates, however as yet, there is little evidence of the take up or impact of
this.
ESOL Needs
As previously mentioned a large proportion of the Redbridge population were

born outside the UK and are therefore likely to have a first language other than
English. There continues to be high demand for language and literacy support
and ESOL classes. There is a need for greater partnership working to ensure
adequate ESOL provision is available and appropriately targeted in order to
address language barriers. Currently, demand for ESOL classes is outstripping
supply and population growth, increasing diversity and insufficient funding for
courses is likely to further exacerbate this issue. It is also of note that many
ESOL courses have eligibility restrictions and are fee-paying, which may
prevent certain individuals from accessing this support.
65% of primary school students and 57% of secondary school students in the
borough are known or believed to have a first language other than English
(2015). This compares to 59.4% of primary school students and 50.9% of
96
secondary school students in 2010 .
Well configured job-focused language services would need to differentiate

between three broad categories of recent arrivals who have quite different work-
related needs: highly skilled people whose poor English prevents them working
in their previous occupation or profession; very low or unskilled people,
especially women, with little or no English; younger migrant workers, particularly
from Eastern European countries, who are prepared to work in a wide range of
jobs.
96
“Percentage of Pupils by First Language,” www.data.london.gov.uk
45
97
Languages
Redbridge residents speak a large number of different languages. A total of 119

identified languages (other than English) were spoken by pupils in primary,
secondary and special schools in Redbridge in 2010. Urdu was the most
common language spoken in 2010, with 4555 speakers (19.8% of EAL pupils).
Other commonly spoken languages included Panjabi (3163 pupils or 13.7% of
EAL speakers), Bengali (2992 or 13.0%), Tamil (2246 or 9.7%) and Gujarati
(2004 pupils or 8.7%).
The actual number of languages spoken may be higher than this as there were
896 pupils identified as EAL but without a language specified. The number of
pupils shown as speaking an unidentified non-English language varied widely
between schools and may decrease in the future.
Sustainable Economic Growth
Development and regeneration
New development and regeneration in Redbridge is primarily focused on Ilford

Town Centre, with the area soon to be the subject of a number of changes,
developments and improvement plans. These will include new housing
development and public realm improvement works and are designed to improve
the overall appearance of the area, but will also increase the potential for
additional high quality housing, retail and leisure developments and ultimately
transform Ilford into a destination of choice.
Ilford Housing Zone
Ilford has been confirmed as one of the Greater London Authority’s Housing
Zones; an initiative designed to promote housing development in London and
improve town centres. This is expected to trigger investment for around 2 000
new homes in the area over a six year period, subsequently helping to create a
sense of place in Ilford, increasing the area’s overall desirability and helping to
attract further investment and development. A mix of housing tenures is being
sought, including homes for sale, private rent and affordable housing. The
development could support up to 4,000 jobs and 150 apprenticeships in the
construction supply chain, with potential for around 300 construction jobs and
20 apprenticeships to be created each year in Ilford for the next 5 years and the
Council will also be working closely with contractors to ensure a local dividend
in terms of associated employment.
It will be important to consider the long-term impact that such housing

development and the subsequent population growth will have on local
infrastructure and service demand and ensure we have appropriate provisions
in place and are able to respond accordingly.
Crossrail
Crossrail will be arriving in Redbridge in 2018, which will mean a series of

improvement works and upgrades to four of the borough’s stations. This will
further enhance Redbridge’s excellent transport connectivity and improve the
landscape of the stations and surrounding areas, but will also create the
potential to attract new investment and improve the area’s economy in the long-
term. Steps will be taken to improve the integration of the town centre with
investment to renew the public realm, tackle congestion and calm traffic as well
as improving access to Ilford Station from York Road and Ilford Hill. Again, the
Council will also be working closely with Crossrail and the relevant contractors
97
2010 Local School Census
46
to ensure a local dividend in terms of associated jobs and apprenticeships
The Redbridge Economic Strategy Baseline (2016) concludes that Crossrail will
be an asset to the borough, although the benefits will not be universal. Indeed,
it is thought that the new link will benefit only a small number of key locations,
particularly Ilford. The construction of the line will provide benefits in terms of
training at the Tunnelling and Construction Academy, which will help to
strengthen and distinguish the skills and employment offer of the borough.
With regards to early impacts of Crossrail, the Redbridge Economic Strategy

Baseline provides mixed findings with regards to the impact on residential
property values. Values across the borough as a whole increased over the past
10 years by 52%, while values at the areas to benefit from Crossrail Stations
have increased at lower rates (Ilford 50%; Seven Kings 32%; Chadwell Heath
49%; and Goodmayes 38%). Commercial rents around the Crossrail Stations
have not increased significantly over the past ten years; rents in Ilford have
increased by 12%, while rents in Seven Kings and Chadwell Heath have
remained broadly unchanged.
Business Improvement Districts
Redbridge has two BIDs, located in Hainault and Ilford, and in their first terms
they both delivered over £3 million of investment into their respective areas
improving safety, promotion and creating more welcoming and vibrant
environments. Ilford BID currently brings in around £425 000 of investment per
annum. Both have secured second terms and Hainault is re-balloting for a third
term which if successful will run from April 2016 to March 2021.
The Council needs to ensure that any regeneration or development work is

securing maximum local benefit. The future of Redbridge’s town centres should
be considered as there is a growing need for a diversification of activities in
town centres nationwide; with the general public wanting retail alongside
leisure. They need to be attractive, safe, accessible places with “unique”
98
activities .
Redbridge has a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which charges

developers on most types of new buildings in the borough. The Council
allocates 15% of CIL money to local projects. In this way money is raised from
development to help the Council pay for schools, leisure centres, aged care
accommodation, roads and other facilities to ensure the borough grows
sustainably. CIL replaces the section 106 “tariff” which has previously been
used for this purpose.
98
“Further alterations to the London Plan March 2015,” www.london.gov.uk
47
4 Shaping the Future Economy

4.1 Continuous Change
Economic conditions change continuously and past trends are not necessarily a
guide to the future. This chapter looks at the major factors which could shape
the economic fortunes of Redbridge in the future. It concludes with a brief
summary of the key economic strengths and, weaknesses of the borough and
the opportunities and threats it faces in the future.
4.2 Recovery from the Recession

At time of writing, the UK had achieved continuous GDP growth in every quarter
from the last quarter of 2009 onwards. Global stock markets were also rising
and the worst of the global financial crisis appeared to be over. However, the
strength of the recovery remains problematic and indebtedness of a number of
EU countries (principally Greece) continues to weigh down currencies and
European financial markets. The Chinese economy has also slowed
significantly in recent months and economists express concern that this may
have on the global economic outlook. The fall in oil prices, although giving a
boost to consumers in the short term, has had a significant impact on the
commodities sector.
The International Monetary Fund predicts global growth for 2015 at 3.1 percent,
0.3 percentage points lower than in 2014, and 0.2 percentage points below the
99 100
forecasts in the July 2015 World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update / . In the
United Kingdom, termed an “Advanced European Economy”, growth for 2015 is
projected at 2.5% and 2.2% in 2016.
In advanced economies growth is generally expected to be solid, but weaker

than in 2014. The United Kingdom is expected to experience continuing steady
growth, supported by lower oil prices and continued recovery in wage growth.
GDP expanded at an annualized rate of 2.25% in the first half of 2015, with the
101
unemployment rate now back near its pre-crisis average of about 5.5% .
Monetary policy normalization in the UK is projected to begin in 2016
(consistent with market expectations) without large and protracted increases in
financial market volatility or sharp movements in long-term interest rates.
This has direct consequences for all local authorities and their ability to deliver
services and infrastructure (see below for discussion of the capital funding
needs of Redbridge). This situation is especially dangerous for Redbridge
because local job creation is so heavily dependent on public spending. As
discussed in chapter 3, the public sector has been the mainstay of job creation
in Redbridge over the last decade. If this source of new jobs dries up or should
the local public sector workforce actually contract, it will pose a major challenge
for the borough. The Borough must therefore respond to emerging growth
sectors and ensure people are suitably qualified.
4.3 Competition within the Sub-region

The East London sub-region is subject to major investment associated with the
Thames Gateway. Of prime importance to Redbridge is the ongoing
development of Stratford City.
99
Imf World Economic Outlook (WEO): Adjusting to Lower Commodity Prices,
October 2015.
100
Ibid. Page 54
101
Ibid. Page 54, Table 2.4
48
The Westfield shopping mall which completed at Stratford in 2011 is the largest
urban shopping centre in Europe with 177,000 square metres of floor space and
includes over 300 stores, 12 cinema screens, two hotels and 5,000 car parking
spaces.
Stratford City is also planned to host 465,000 square metres of new office
development. By comparison, the total gross office floorspace required in
Redbridge between 2007 and 2031 is estimated to be just 23,680 square
102
metres . There is some doubt that the full extent of office development will be
realised at Stratford, but only because other office mega-schemes are under
construction at Canary Wharf or planned at Wood Wharf and Greenwich
103
Peninsula .
High population growth and real growth in expenditure creates demand for new
retail and leisure space. By 2030, there is forecast to be demand for at least
23,911m2 of new comparison retail floorspace and 8,562m2 of retail
convenience floorspace (retail capacity assessment 2015), that will also need to
be supported by new leisure uses to ensure a diverse mix of uses and ehance
town centre vitality. In addition to scale, new retailing in particular will need to
respond to the changing ethnic mix in LBR.
Government Policy on Office space
Ilford faces an ongoing issue with an oversupply of “low grade” office space.
The area has too much low quality office space, which is often left vacant and
only capable of generating low rents. This simultaneously puts off businesses
from setting up in the area and potential developers from creating new,
purpose-built, more desirable office accommodation. It is noteworthy that the
projected demand for new office space in Ilford is in negative figures, which
104
contrasts with many other areas of the borough .
Ilford needs an appropriate office space strategy to ensure potential investors to

the area are encouraged to develop new office space and reconfigure existing
space so that that it is appropriately aimed at prevailing working approaches
(e.g. incubator units and flexible workspace), which should be done in
conjunction with increasing work to support local businesses. Crossrail could
deliver opportunities for increased take-up of office floorspace by improving
accessibility, but this is likely to be concentrated within close proximity to
Crossrail stations.
The Council should consider how it might best facilitate joined up working
between key stakeholders including the planning department and developers
wherever possible to safeguard business property and ensure supply meets
demand and projected future demand. Permitted Development Rights which
allow the conversion of office floorspace to residential risk further exacerbating
this issue.
105
As well as improving its retail offer, the East London SRDF suggests that
Ilford will have to reinvent itself as a leisure and evening economy oriented
destination if it is to successfully respond to the growth of Stratford.
102
Ibid. Pages 53 and 59.
103
London Office Policy Review. Radimus Consulting, November 2009. Page
viii.
104
Retail, Leisure and Office Demand Study for London Borough of Redbridge
105
Sub-regional Development Framework East London. Mayor of London. Map
2006. Page 48.
49
BIDs
The borough hosts two Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) at Ilford and
Hainault Business Park. These are geographical areas in which the local
businesses have voted to invest collectively to improve their environment and
come with a number of business benefits. They work on behalf of businesses in
the area to create an attractive, welcoming, vibrant and economically successful
trading area.
Redbridge has a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL), which charges

developers on most types of new buildings in the borough. The Council
allocates 15% of CIL money to local projects. In this way money is raised from
development to help the Council pay for schools, leisure centres, aged care
accommodation, roads and other facilities to ensure the borough grows
sustainably. CIL replaces the section 106 “tariff” which has previously been
used for this purpose.
Consequently, competition within the sub-region is likely to grow sharper and it

is unrealistic to expect any “big bang” office or retail investment which will
transform the economic future of Redbridge. However, while Ilford may be
overshadowed by Stratford in relative terms, there are still prospects for modest
growth of non-housing sectors, especially where retail or commercial
development can be attracted as part of mixed-use developments led by new
housing.
Crossrail
The arrival of Crossrail in 2019 will change economic conditions in other ways.
As well as improving rail capacity and speed, Crossrail will provide London’s
first ever direct east - west connection without the need to change modes of
transport through the central London bottleneck. As such it will help break down
London’s historic longitudinal divide.
It will allow Redbridge residents to more easily access large pools of jobs in
places such as the West End and Heathrow. The estimated journey time from
Ilford to Heathrow will be 58 minutes. It may stimulate more local employment if
highly accessible sites around the Redbridge Crossrail Stations can attract
some new office investment.
Better access is a two-edged sword. Crossrail may also increase the leakage of
retail spending from Redbridge to other centres along its route.
Crossrail will also result in direct investment in Redbridge, including a

refurbished Ilford Station and conducting major upgrades of the other mainline
stations at Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath. As long as the Ilford Station works
are properly coordinated with Council and TfL plans to create a new bus
106
interchange and the arrival of the Mayor’s Cycle Superhighway , Crossrail will
transform this gateway to Ilford and much of Redbridge, providing a greatly
enhanced interchange facility that will be good for existing business and
attractive to inward investors.
The Area Action Plan boundary encompasses the area running from the
eastern edge of Ilford Metropolitan Centre, along the High Road, through Seven
Kings, Goodmayes and Chadwell Heath Town Centres to the Borough
boundary in the east. All three of these stations (Seven Kings, Goodmayes,
Chadwell Heath) are on the proposed Crossrail route.
50
4.4 The Local Plan - Strategic Context

Spatial Issues
The future spatial distribution of growth and economic development within

Redbridge is currently guided by the Council’s Core Strategy. This key planning
document aims to concentrate most development on the borough’s hierarchy of
town centres, led by Ilford as the only Metropolitan Centre and by far the largest
town centre in the borough and followed by the District Centres of Barkingside,
Gants Hill, South Woodford and Wanstead. The Local Centres of Woodford
Broadway/Snakes Lane, Woodford Bridge, Manford Way, Seven Kings,
Goodmayes, Ilford Lane and Newbury Park are intended to provide for
local retail and community needs. In terms of housing, the Core Strategy aims
107
for new development to be distributed as follows :
• 35%-50% within Ilford Metropolitan Centre
• 15%-25% in the District and Local Centres
• 25%-35% throughout the rest of the borough
The Council chose this pattern as the most sustainable approach to growth
because:
 The town centres enjoy the best transport connections and thus are the
best locations to concentrate jobs, services and community facilities.
 It minimises the need for higher densities or inappropriate development in

the residential areas where there could be conflict with their established
suburban character.
 It preserves the extensive areas of Green Belt, open space and areas of
nature conservation value that are critical to the borough’s environmental
quality.
One qualification needs to be made in respect of the borough’s eight designated

Business Areas. Two of these (Hainault Business Park and Southend Road) are
designated Strategic Industrial Locations under the London Plan and thus
safeguarded for industrial uses.
Industrial uses in the remaining Business Areas are protected by LDF policy,
although mixed-use schemes are permitted. However, some of these Business
Areas suffer from high vacancy rates and the London Plan states that (apart
from the Strategic Industrial Locations) Redbridge is a borough where
108
“managed release” of industrial land to other uses is appropriate over time . At
least one such Business Area at Chadwell Heath (Grove Farm) is effectively
making that transition now and if the long-term decline of industrial employment
continues in time other areas may follow suit.
Rapid population growth and the introduction of the National Planning Policy
Framework (NPPF) have made it necessary for the Council to embark on a new
Local Plan to replace the Core Strategy and other LDF documents.
107
Core Strategy Development Plan Document. London Borough of Redbridge,
March 2008. Strategic Policy 7, Page 26.
108
London Plan. Subregional Development Framework. East London. GLA.
May 2006. .
51
The emerging plan identifies Ilford, Crossrail Corridor, Gants Hill, South
Woodford and Barkingside as the boroughs main “Investment and Growth
Areas” where new homes, jobs, shops, and supporting infrastructure will be
targeted. This includes provision for some development of land previously
designated as Green Belt that no longer meets the core purposes of such a
designation. Wanstead is no longer earmarked for major growth despite its
accessibility, on account of the need to be sensitive to existing character.
In terms of designated Business Areas, the emerging policy position is for

intensification through increased provision of fit for purpose B1 space. In locally
designated sites this could be as part of mixed use schemes, whilst in SIL it
would be through re-categorisation from Preferred Industrial Locations to
Industrial Business Parks (a sub-category of the SIL designation; meaning they
would still be protected from any residential development).
Housing Supply and Infrastructure
New built development in Redbridge is dominated by residential and it is likely

that this remains the main source of development pressure. The Redbridge
Core Strategy has a target to deliver an average of 905 homes per year up to
2016. Revisions to the London Plan have resulted in increased borough targets
of 1,123 homes per annum, and local evidence of even greater levels of
housing need means the borough should exceed this target, as set out in the
emerging Local Plan.
Simply building homes for a growing population is only half the story. In order to
ensure that continued housing growth is sustainable, the Council and its
partners must also be able to deliver adequate infrastructure to ensure that the
availability and quality of community services and facilities is maintained or
improved. The Redbridge Community Infrastructure Plan (December 2009)
estimates the amount, costs and sources of funding for many types of
community infrastructure needed to support housing growth in Redbridge until
2017. The key findings in relation to identified need are shown in Table 30:
52
Table 30- Cost of community infrastructure to support growth in

109
Redbridge to 2017 (including cost of facilities and land)
Type of Facility Cost to provide for

future need (£million)
London Borough of Redbridge Responsibilities
Early Education (1 Children’s Centre) 1.0
Primary Schools (4.5 x 4FE) 69.6
Secondary Schools (Academy + 1X6FE + 96.4
1x8FE) (range of improvements)
Transport 10.1
Leisure Centres (1 centre: 25m pool & 8 courts) 15.8
Libraries (modernize facilities) 0.7
Open Space (quality improvements to 54 ha) 5.4
Sub-Total 199.0
NHS/PCT Responsibilities
11 GPs, 392m2 specialist care, 50 hospital 21.9
beds
Learning & Skills Council/Further Education Providers’
Responsibilities
1,286 Further Education Places 6.9
Total 227.8
The Council’s capital funding position is currently heavily constrained. This is

unlikely to change for the foreseeable future, given pressure to limit
Government spending in the aftermath of the global financial crisis. If the
Council is to deliver the required community infrastructure without raising
Council Tax to unacceptably high levels, then significant additional funding
streams will have to be found.
Economics and sustainability
“There is a danger that the low carbon economy is viewed as separate from the
rest of the economy when, to meet challenging carbon reduction goals and
remain competitive, the whole economy will need to become low carbon”.
London Assembly, July 2009
Environmental implications and sustainability will play a large part in

shaping the future economy:
 Sustaining growth and managing risk – ensuring continued supply of energy,

raw materials for production; waste disposal; a workable/liveable environment;
climate change adaptation and business continuity
 Improving efficiency and cutting costs –rising energy costs and alternative
sources of energy, energy efficiency, and ‘greener’ (money-saving and money-
making) practices
 Competitiveness – green accreditations, positive publicity, green awards, and

meeting customer demand
 New market opportunities – growing low carbon market, green leisure

opportunities, and new transport hubs/ connections
109
Source: Redbridge Community Infrastructure Plan 2007-2017. December
2009.
53
For the economic growth of the Borough to be sustainable, environmental
impacts need to be considered. The Redbridge Environmental Action Plan
(REAct) is a Borough-wide strategy that sets out how the Council and its
partners will achieve a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Redbridge. It
includes key environmental aims and targets and how the Council and its
partners will work together to meet them.
Competitiveness
There are considerable economic benefits associated with good local

environmental quality. Benefits include:
 Attracting more customers and increased consumer spending
 Increased investment in local business
 Improved image of businesses
 Better retention and recruitment of staff
 Increased tourism
Managing risk: climate change
In order to prevent the worst scenario and the most severe impacts of climate
change, emissions need to be brought down to the level that balances the
Earth’s natural capacity to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The
Stern Review estimates the annual costs of stabilisation at 500-550ppm CO2e
to be around 1% of GDP by 2050. The review indicates that in the absence of
action to control emissions, the overall costs and risks of climate change will be
equivalent to losing at least 5% of global GDP each year into perpetuity. If a
wider range of risks and impacts is taken into account, the estimates of damage
110
could rise to 20% of GDP or more .
Redbridge has an estimated 139 commercial properties located in flood risk

111
zones and potentially vulnerable to flooding. An increase in extreme weather
events would have an economic impact on local business, both in terms of
sales and productivity. For example, non-fashion retail sales can fall by circa
14% nationally during summer heatwaves.
The Council may wish to consider carrying out a comprehensive risk

assessment to ensure that appropriate steps are taken to adapt to any high-risk
impacts and minimise their impact on the local economy
110
Lord Nicholas Stern, The Stern Review: The Economics of Climate Change
(2006) Executive Summary
111
Redbridge GIS Team estimation, Planning and Regeneration
54
Energy supply and renewable energy
Rising energy costs are likely to have a negative impact on Redbridge

businesses. Industrial sectors likely to be hardest hit are transport and
112
manufacturing (July 2008) . More energy efficient production methods will be
encouraged by higher energy prices. Sales of high-fuel consuming cars may fall
as consumers shift to cars that consume less fuel.
‘Greener’ business
‘Greening’ business has a positive economic impact. ISO 14001 is an

internationally recognised series of international standards for effective
environmental management that covers every aspect of how an organisation
operates. The potential positive commercial and financial benefits to companies
who employ an ISO 14001 certified system are well documented.
Building a low carbon economy
There is an opportunity to develop a low carbon business sector in Redbridge

through the encouragement and support of entrepreneurial enterprises and the
expansion of existing industries, particularly in the construction and
manufacturing sectors. In 2009, there were 75 companies that produced low
113
carbon goods or services . The estimated combined turnover of these
companies in 2008/8 was £267.4 million and the number of jobs equivalent was
estimated as 1,774.
114
Table 31 - Redbridge Low Carbon Sector breakdown (LDA definition)
Sector Sub-sectorLevel 2 2008/9 No. of No. of jobs
turnover companies equivalent
Level 1
Environmental Consultancy and education (million)
3.3 0 13
sub sectors Recovery and recycling 53.1 8 240
Waste management 4.1 1 84
TOTAL 60.5 9 337
Low Carbon Additional energy sources 3.8 0 31
Sub Alternative fuels 20.1 7 233
Sectors Building technologies 20.2 7 197
Energy management 16.1 0 5
TOTAL 60.2 14 466
Renewables Biomass 23.9 1 89
sub Geothermal 25.5 4 163
sectors Hydro 11.8 0 28
Photovoltaic 25.6 1 96
Renewable 2.6 0 4
consulting
Wave and tidal 33.9 0 0
Wind 19.7 46 567
TOTAL 143 52 947
Other Technologies, research and 3.7 0 24
development
TOTAL 267.4 74 1,774
112
GLA, Rising energy prices and their effects on environmental behaviour (July
2008)
113
Innovas Ltd (2009) for LDA, Greening Expectations: London’s Low Carbon
Job Prospects (September 2010)
114
Innovas Ltd (November 2009)
55
A local low carbon economy offers the potential for unemployed Redbridge
residents to acquire new skills and gain employment in this growing sector.
While the majority of jobs will be higher skilled, around 1 in 3 jobs will require a
Level 2 qualification or below. In 2009/10, approximately 10,000 learners
started Further Education courses relevant to ‘low carbon’ in London: none of
these courses were available in Redbridge. Redbridge colleges should be
encouraged to run courses and modules that relate to the low carbon sector
and raising awareness of low carbon jobs in secondary schools should be
considered.
Buildings and transport hubs
Locating new buildings near public transport hubs is essential in encouraging

use of sustainable means of travel, reducing emissions from private vehicles
and reducing congestion. The Crossrail Corridor is an opportunity area for new
development and the proximity to the fast-rail link should encourage greater use
of public transport. The Council has adopted a Cycle Strategy for the Borough
to encourage commuting by sustainable means.
Redbridge is well connected to surrounding boroughs and central London.

However, public transport links within the Borough, particularly North to South,
could be improved to encourage a reduction in private vehicle use and carbon
emissions. Greater North-South links would also encourage greater economic
development in the North of the Borough as well as increasing local
employment opportunities.
Green leisure opportunities
The aim of the Mayor of London’s ‘Green Grid’ is to create a network of

interlinked, multi-functional and high quality open spaces that connect with town
centres, public transport nodes, the countryside in the urban fringe, the Thames
and major employment and residential areas. Redbridge has some key strategic
green spaces that could be incorporated into the Green Grid and bring more
people into the borough and investing in our services and leisure facilities.
These include Fairlop Waters Country Park, Valentines Park, Hainault Forest
Country Park, and Wanstead Park.
Importance of Local Environmental Quality
The natural environment plays an important role in supporting economic activity.

It provides resources and raw materials, such as water, timber and minerals, as
inputs for the production of goods and services (sometimes known as sources).
It contributes indirectly through services provided by ecosystems, such as
carbon sequestration, water purification, managing flood risks, and nutrient
cycling (sometimes known as sinks).
Land
Land use in Redbridge is predominantly urban. Parks and Open Spaces cover
45.03% of the Borough and include 35 Sites of Importance for Nature
Conservation, half of which are ‘managed positively for nature conservation’..
The Green Flag Award recognises green spaces where the environment is of a
high quality and well managed, and where all members of the community have
access. 3 green spaces in Redbridge were awarded a Green Flag in 2010:
Hainault Forest Country Park, Valentines Park and Elmhurst Gardens, all of
which are operated by the Council in collaboration with ‘Friends of’ parks
groups.
56
Water and flooding
The River Roding and, to a lesser extent, Seven Kings Water are the principal
watercourses in Redbridge. Under the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the
Roding has been classified as having poor ecological status, and the Seven
Kings Water has been classified as moderate ecological status. They need to
achieve good ecological potential by 2027.
In Redbridge there were 3,086 properties registered to receive flood warnings

as of June 2010. Of these, 784 properties were identified by the Environment
Agency as being in areas of flood risk. Economic development and housing
growth is strongly discouraged on flood plain under Government Guidance
(National Planning Policy Framework). Sustainable Drainage Systems (SUDS)
should be further encouraged through the planning process.
Redbridge has an estimated 139 commercial properties located in flood risk

115
zones and potentially vulnerable to flooding. The zones relate to risk from
either fluvial or surface water flooding.
Map 1: Commercial premises located within flood risk zones
Air
There has been a slow decline in the Borough’s air quality in recent years. Of
the four recording stations, the average reading for oxides of nitrogen (NOx)
was 46.3 μg/ m³ in 2009, 46.8 in 2010, and 47.2 in 2011 Readings for 2012 and
2013 are only available for 2 of the 4 stations and do not therefore provide
meaningful comparisons to the previously stated figures. The average reading
116
for 2012 was 42.6 and 40.2 for 2013 . These readings are all above the 40 μg/
m³ which is considered acceptable for human health. It should be pointed out
that the readings are mostly taken along busy roads and often reflect through
traffic such as on the A406 (north circular), M11 and A12.
115
Redbridge GIS Team estimation, Planning and Regeneration
116
2014 Air Quality Progress Report for London Borough of Redbridge,
February 2015
57
The Borough of Redbridge is a low emission zone (LEZ), a Transport for
London (TfL) allocation that sets emissions standards for diesel vehicles
entering or driving in Greater London. The LEZ commenced on 4 February
2008 and applies to vehicles over 3.5 tonnes and buses and coaches over 5
tonnes with more than eight seats, plus the driver's seat. Failure to comply with
the standards currently results in financial penalties.
The low emission zone charge has a potential financial impact. The businesses
most affected by the LEZ are the smaller and marginal operators (for all the four
117
vehicle types identified) . Many of these are owner-operators where the
management of the vehicle fleet may be only one small aspect of running their
business. Many of these operators would be unlikely to have formulated ‘fleet
management strategies’ and may not have either the awareness, skills or
funding to develop an efficient response to the scheme.
Carbon emissions
Redbridge has one of the lowest carbon footprints of all London boroughs. It
also has a relatively low industry base compared to other London boroughs.
The Council should continue to include and develop effective energy

efficiency and sustainability criteria in their procurement process. A
carbon Reduction study at the Borough-wide level, the study found that carbon
emissions have already been reduced by 11% (2005-2012). New development
is however projected to increase emissions by 3% between 2012-2020.
National action (particularly the decarbonisation of the electricity grid) is
expected to reduce emissions by 8.5 % during the same period, with regional
initiatives (transport decarbonisation) reducing emissions by a further 1.5 %.
The net reduction from previous actions and those proposed at a national and
118
regional level is therefore 18 % by 2020 from a 2005 baseline.
Waste
The recycling and composting rate in Redbridge ranks 23rd out of all London
119
boroughs. This falls within the 3rd quartile .
The Redbridge Economic Strategy Baseline (2016) indicates that waste

management and recycling will be key services required across London which
continue to grow. These services will be increasingly squeezed out from inner
London boroughs over the next decade, which could create an opportunity for
120
Redbridge to build on its strengths in this sector . Growth in employment in
the sector has increased by 128% over the period 2009 to 2014.
Environmental Cleanliness
Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) in Redbridge have tackled

environmental cleanliness. Hainault Business Park BID has, in partnership with
Redbridge Council, tackled fly- tipping, abandoned vehicles, and repaired
121
broken walls and fencing. . Support for the BID is very high: 93% of survey
respondents favour the continuation of the BID for a further five-year term.
Nearly every respondent was positive about BID management: 96% said that
117
TfL, Proposed London Low Emission Zone- Economic And Business Impact
Assessment (Nov 2006)
118
London Borough of Redbridge, Annual Monitoring Report, 2013 - 2014
119
CRC annual report publication: 2013 to 2014
120
121
The Mackinnon Partnership, Hainault Business Park Pre-Ballot
Questionnaire: Report to the London Borough of Redbridge and Hainault
Business Park Ltd (August 2010)
58
they were either “very satisfied” (65%) or “satisfied” (31%) with current BID
management. 75% are in favour of a paid management structure to the BID.
The BID projects attracting the highest satisfaction are those related to security,
signage and recycling.
59
4.5 Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

The economic strengths and weaknesses of Redbridge and the opportunities
and threats facing the borough may be summed up as follows:
Figure 18: SWOT analysis
Strengths Weaknesses
Well educated workforce founded on Declining local employment base

strongly performing local schools
Over-reliance on public sector for job creation
Good transport connections (especially to
central London) Success is “patchy” – some parts of
Redbridge have lower levels of education and
Strong residential growth workplace skills
Strong network of town centres and Ilford Local economy fairly self-contained and not
has sub-regional economic “clout” export-oriented
Good rates of small business formation High Levels of UE, particularly in the South of
the Borough
Two Business Improvement Districts (BIDs)
Lack of inter-borough (North-South public
Redbridge Business Network transport links
Profitable green spaces Retail sector does not include leading quality
retail operators
Decentralised decline in manufacturing base

has led to a shortage of employment land.
Opportunities Threats
Crossrail and Crossrail Tunnelling academy Reduction of London’s weight as an

international financial centre
Retail diversification/leisure economy
Reduced Government spending
Product differentiation for key town centres
(especially Ilford) Lack of money/land for community
infrastructure/funding cuts
Modest retail and office growth
Growth of Stratford and other competing
Low Carbon economy/’green’ jobs centres
Renewable energy feed-in tariffs Carbon Reduction Commitment
Green Investment District Rising energy costs
Mayor of London’s Green Grid Increased growth vs. environmental impact
Provide back office support to Canary Climate change impacts

Wharf/ Central London
60
5 Policy Directions
5.1 A sustainable pattern of development
Redbridge has historically been a dormitory borough to some degree, with
nearly two thirds of employed Redbridge residents working outside the borough.
While the borough’s access to the central London jobs market is one of its
strengths, Crossrail offers opportunities for Redbridge to promote a more
sustainable pattern of development by facilitating appropriately configured
business space for small and start-up businesses. The borough also needs to
reduce reliance on public sector jobs due to their long term vulnerability, which
the improved attractiveness of the area could help to facilitate.
Wholesale and retail trade, financial and professional services and public sector
jobs are the mainstays of employment today. For Redbridge residents who work
outside the borough, financial and professional services and public sector jobs
are relatively more important. Within Redbridge, employment in the retail and
wholesale trade overshadows the financial and professional services sector, but
the contribution of both these sectors to employment within the borough has
fallen. However, the borough is located within a strategic position with the
Thames Gateway and London-Stanstead-Cambridge corridor, offering
opportunities to be a key employment hub, attracting works from both within
Redbridge and from along the Crossrail corridor. There is evidence of strong
entrepreneurial spirit in Redbridge with growing numbers of business start-ups
and microbusinesses, which is likely to increase when Crossrail services
commence. Businesses continue to move eastward as a result of increased
occupancy costs in the central boroughs.
Strategic Industrial Locations in the borough are functioning well, with good
occupancy rates and relatively high employment. The town centres are also
faring well in comparison to other areas and the main town centres anticipate
continued improvement as a result of Crossrail services, which will speed up
access from neighbouring areas.
The emerging Local Plan seeks to capitalise on the factors above and to
provide a clear direction of where future growth will be focused in the five
growth and investment areas.
5.2 The Council’s Role

As is apparent from the preceding chapters, the economic future of Redbridge
is being moulded by national and international forces, many of which are
beyond the control of any local authority. Nevertheless, the Council is able to
influence economic conditions in Redbridge in a number of important ways:
1. As an economic player in its own right: The Council is both the

largest employer and a major land-holder in the borough. Council
purchases of supplies and out-sourcing of contracts help support many
local businesses.
2. Fiscally: By setting the level of Council Tax and Council fees and
charges for other services and facilitating business growth by re-
gearing the level of business rates now permitted by granting of more
local control by the Treasury.
3. Shaping the environment: By street works to improve transport and

improve public safety; ensuring waste is collected, and the borough is
clean etc.
61
4. Investing in human “capital”: Such as schools and other educational
and training facilities and services; affordable housing; providing leisure
facilities and parks and gardens for recreation.
5. Managing development: By making land available for development;

ensuring buildings are sound and environmentally sustainable;
processing development applications.
6. Transport: By owning a number of key roads and controlling parking

arrangements across the borough.
7. Leading and promoting the borough: In partnership with the

business community and public sector organisations to attract inward
investment and foster regeneration .e.g., Redbridge council is working
with London Small Business Centre and Enterprise for London to
support SME’s; North East London Strategic Alliance and London
Stanstead Cambridge Consortium and Redbridge Chamber of
Commerce.
5.3 Policy Responses

There is no such thing as a self- contained “Redbridge economy”. Along with
the other outer northeast London boroughs, Redbridge does not have a self-
contained labour market or discrete local economy. It is heavily integrated into
the wider London economy and in particular helps provide a skilled labour force
to inner and central London boroughs which themselves are heavily tied into the
international economy.
This is undoubtedly one of the borough’s great strengths. Jobs in central

London are typically better paying and the wards with the greatest proportion of
people working in central London are on average less deprived and have better
educated residents with lower rates of unemployment. The policy responses,
which flow from this view, are largely about equipping people to access
opportunities and to deal with change:
• Providing children with the best possible education to maximise

participation in the knowledge economy.
• Providing adults with good vocational training geared to available

employment.
• Providing employees with efficient transport to workplaces (inside or

outside the borough).
• Providing businesses with a flexible regulatory environment to help them

adapt to changing competitive pressures and market opportunities.
Local businesses are also likely to benefit from emerging Local Plan policies
aimed at:
 Harnessing growth and achieving sustainable patterns of development

by focussing new development in the borough’s Investment and Growth
areas of Ilford, Barkingside, Crossrail Corridor, Gants Hill and South
Woodford.
 Increasing the capacity, quality and density of the borough’s Strategic

Industrial Locations.
 Enabling new and emerging businesses in sectors that are projected to

expand in the future.
62
 Improving existing employment land to ensure they are attractive to

regional, national and international investors.
 Encouraging and maintaining an appropriate mix of town centre uses
 Equipping local people with the skills they need to capitalise on new
opportunities through training.
 Promoting inward investment and opportunities identified through

improvements to public transport.
The borough should aim to maximise the number of jobs available to residents
to avoid the need for seeking employment elsewhere, thus improving
sustainable land use and generating local growth. Although many residents are
attracted by high levels of remuneration at financial and business services of
central London, attracting new businesses to the borough could provide an
alternative. The borough could then address the likelihood of a reduction in out-
workers reducing average income per head.
While some residents will choose to shop outside the borough, rather than in
Ilford or one of the other town centres, the good accessibility of Redbridge
brings many advantages. By focusing growth in the town centres including
Ilford, the retail offer will improve, generating a critical mass of retailers that is
capable of retaining existing users, attracting new customers who currently use
other centres, and enhancing attractiveness to business providers.
63

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LOCAL ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT

LONDON BOROUGH OF REDBRIDGE 2016

1.2 Legislative Background

1.3 Objectives of the LEA

The main objectives for LEAs are that they should:

Identify the local economic geography, including the economic linkages

In preparing its assessment, Redbridge will have regard to the Corporate

1. Increase fairness and respond to the aspirations of the borough

2. Improve the quality of life and civic pride amongst our

The Council needs to focus its work to ensure Redbridge continues to be a

3. Transform our Council in tough times to be dynamic and

With the Council facing such unprecedented pressures it is acknowledged

4. Empower our community to help shape our borough and the

 To promote London as a city that excels as a world capital of business;

1.4 Core Evidence Base

2 Setting the Scene

In order to explain economic conditions in Redbridge it is necessary to look

2.2 A Globalised City

Figure 2: Jobs in London in 2014 by sector and proportion of London

In these circumstances, London is likely to become just one of many major

2.3 Regional Economic Structure

Figure 3: Regional share of UK GVA, 2014

The Thames Gateway Growth Corridor; and

Like its transport system, London’s economy is radially structured. Central

Outside the central area, London’s economy is based around its 13

2.4 Outer London Issues

Recent employment projections suggest a turn-around with an 11% increase in

Outer London 59,000 20 0.71

London Total 303,000 100 3.6

2.5 Redbridge in its London Context

Travel to Work Patterns

The distance and travel to work patterns of Redbridge residents provide an

Place of Work Number of Redbridge residents

Distance All Work Train, Driving All other

Median weekly full-

Central London’s economy is heavily internationalised and highly productive

Falling job density

Barking and City of Tower Waltham

Job Density (Number of jobs per working age resident)

Local Authority Number of Employees

1998 2011 2014

Employment rates of working age people

Table 8 - Working age population (aged 16-64) (2014):

Redbridge Redbridge London (%) Great

Table 9 - Employment and Unemployment (2015):

Redbridge Redbridge London (%) Great

The borough’s working age employment rate is 67.5% (132,300), compared

The employment rate for residents aged 50 – 64 is 74.8%; an increase of 12%

The percentage of the Redbridge workforce in self-employment is currently

Redbridge residents in apprenticeships and traineeships

Redbridge apprenticeship figures:

 Apprenticeship total starts: 243 (2012/13); 229 (2010/12);

The government has committed itself to delivering increased numbers of

Future population growth

If the Redbridge Community Infrastructure Plan 2011 estimates of homes with 3

People Per Dwelling Based on Number of Habitable Rooms

Average 1.48 1.70 1.85 2 2.64 2.76 3.22 3.52

By further analysing these population projections, it is evident that growth is

At October 2013 the average price of a home in Redbridge was £313,288. By