The Heartland is a world-leading economic area, founded on science and technology innovation, powered by a network of world class universities and research centres. And it has the potential to achieve even more.
Pivotal to UK economic growth, powered by innovation
Our region is renowned for its world class strengths in knowledge-intensive industries. We are pivotal to the government’s economic growth mission.
According to research by Cambridge Econometrics, of the seven sub-national transport body areas which cover the entirety of England outside of London, the EEH region is ranked first for:
- Economic growth
- Jobs growth
- Population growth
- Exporting intensity
- Foreign investment
- Concentration of R&D jobs
- Patent filings
The region also accounts for 25% of all life science jobs in England, while other knowledge-intensive sectors such as advanced physics and engineering and digital and creative also feature prominently.
There are 183 established ‘innovation clusters’ (as defined by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) located throughout the EEH region, hosting 15,900-plus knowledge‑intensive firms and receiving £855m of public research funding. Thirty-three of these clusters, including those associated with med-tech, robotics, data, artificial intelligence, pharmaceuticals, quantum physics and food-tech, are ranked within the 10 biggest in the UK for their specialism – these clusters are located in Oxfordshire, Milton Keynes, Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Success Cannot be Taken for Granted
However, the analysis found that the region is now 3% less productive (per job) than the rest of England, whereas 20 years ago it was more productive.
Emissions from transport are also higher than average.
Over 812,000 people in the region live in the top third most deprived local authority areas of England – accounting for 15% of the region’s population.
There are widespread issues with congestion and limited public transport services which are acting as barriers to future sustainable growth.
Diverse transport needs
The Heartland is home to 5.1m people, approximately 9% of the total population of England.
Its 'polycentric geography', with a mix of relatively small cities, market towns and a large rural population (around 35% of the region’s population live in small market towns and rural hinterlands, significantly above the national average), results in a diverse range of transport needs, opportunities and challenges.
In addition, the Heartland's central location within England result in many strategic journeys being made through the region, particularly on the many radial road and rail routes between the south, the Midlands and north. The performance of these routes is vital for the freight and logistics sector and the health of the UK economy.
Find out more
One-pager on EEH economy - from Cambridge Econometrics analysis
Sector maps and table - as defined by Cambridge Econometrics research for EEH (2024)
Heartland in Context
Released alongside the Draft Transport Strategy in 2020, Heartland in Context provides details on the economy, environment, people and transport system of the Heartland.