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Business and Economic Overview

North Hertfordshire forms part of the Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership . Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) have been introduced by the Coalition Government to replace Regional Development Agencies (RDAs).   The Hertfordshire LEP will take a leading role in growing the county’s economy and creating a prosperous environment for businesses and residents alike, seeking to retain Hertfordshire's competitive edge.

As the northern part of the district is also heavily influenced by the Cambridgeshire economy, the district is also part of Greater Cambridge, Greater Peterborough LEP  . The goal of the LEP is to create an economy with 100,000 major businesses and create 160,000 new jobs by 2025, in an internationally significant low carbon, knowledge-based economy balanced wherever possible with advanced manufacturing and services.

The district council will work with both LEPs to ensure a sustainable and prosperous economy, providing skills and jobs to meet the requirements of the districts residents and encourage local enterprise.

North Hertfordshire offers a high quality of life and superb working environment. The combination of attractive towns, rural surroundings, skilled and reliable workforce and excellent transport links makes North Herts an appealing location for investment and a popular place to live and work.

North Herts is strategically located in the heart of key commercial centres with an excellent transport network linking the area to the rest of the UK, Europe and World economies.

The district sits between Luton and Milton Keynes to the west, Cambridge to the north, Stevenage to the east and London, 30 miles to the south.

The district's towns are all linked by rail to London (30-40 minutes) and the north of England and Scotland.

By road the A1(M) passes through the district and the M1 passes just 6 miles from Hitchin at Junction 10, these roads provide easy access to the NW, NE and Scotland as well as linking to the M25 London ring road.

London Luton airport is only 15 minutes from Hitchin whilst London Stansted and London Heathrow are both within an hour by road.

The population of North Herts is estimated to be 123,800. 75,100 are of working age and of this number 64,300 are economically active (Source: Nomis/ONS 2009).

There are few large employers in the district and the majority of businesses are small and medium enterprises employing fewer than 50 persons. This makes the economy particularly resilient. Numerically the largest employment sector is hotels, distribution and catering which involve roughly 27% of the workforce. Financial and business services together with public administration and education together accounts for 41% of the working population each with 14% in manufacturing (Source: ABI 2008).

A growing sector for new and expanding business is in the knowledge based economy (medium and hi-tech manufacturing and hi-tech services) reflecting the high standards of education in the district and the influence of local colleges and universities.

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