The spatial response

Haven Gateway sub-region

International port gateway and eastern regional cities

The sub-region is one of the key international gateways to the UK. Its growth and infrastructure are therefore of national significance to the well-being of the UK economy. 740,000 people live in the Haven Gateway sub-region, which contains the regional cities of Ipswich, which has 20 per cent of the population and is Haven Gateway's largest functional urban economy, and Colchester, which contains 15 per cent of population but is functionally quite separate from Ipswich. The increasing links with London are a feature of the economic flows within and across the gateway.

The sub-region is also defined in relation to the internationally significant Haven Ports (principally Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich), its market and coastal towns and its high-quality rural hinterland. The Haven Gateway is gearing up for substantial economic and housing growth over the next two decades, with regional spatial strategy targets of 49,700 jobs focusing on key economic specialisms of hi-tech and knowledge-based employment growth and 50,840 new homes by 2021.

Assets and opportunities
  • there is a high concentration of employment in post and telecommunications and in some aspects of financial services; the former accounts for over 7,000 jobs and it is likely that many of these are located on or near Adastral Park, home of BT's research activity with a visible presence of higher and further education institutions and the largest telecommunications park in Europe
  • the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich, Ipswich and Mistley. Felixstowe is the largest container port in the UK, part of the Hutchison Port Holdings Group, and is set to expand from 3 million 20-foot equivalent unit to 5.2 million 20-foot equivalent unit
  • the University of Essex in Colchester is a UK top-ten research university. International strengths include industry-linked departments such as electrical systems engineering (including photonics, RF engineering and multimedia architectures), computer science (including the largest robotics research group in the UK) and the Essex Biomedical Sciences Institute
  • national strengths in sectors such as transport-related hi-tech engineering (Colchester), insurance and telecommunications (Ipswich)
  • the presence of companies such as Hutchison Ports, Flakt Woods, Man B & W Paxman Diesels, Brackett Geiger and Axa Insurance, Willis Ltd, Textron Inc, Crane Fluid Systems and BT, who are active players in national and global markets.
Constraints
  • modelling work highlights a potential challenge in delivering quality jobs and growth targets particularly across the Suffolk part of the gateway
  • there is a need to create a more enterprising local economy. Current rates of new business formation are relatively low within the Ipswich area compared both to the East of England and elsewhere in the Haven Gateway
  • as the population grows, the issues relating to the economic vibrancy of town centres will need to be addressed
  • housing completions are currently projected to exceed annual targets but in later years may slow down and fall behind
  • there is a potential lack of high-quality employment land availability particularly in and around Colchester
  • a number of coastal towns are in need of regeneration with pockets of severe deprivation including in relation to labour market participation
  • water resources are predicted to become increasingly stretched whilst, at the same time, the risk of coastal flooding will threaten parts of the area.
Strategic ambitions
  • development of a next-generation 30-acre science-based business park at Martlesham, with the real potential both to create over 1,100 high-value jobs and provide future stability in the sector
  • expand the international port functions of Haven Gateway, including expansions at Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay
  • carry out major reinvention of city and town centres, including Ipswich waterfront, East Colchester, Harwich and regeneration priorities such as Jaywick
  • develop cultural infrastructure of national and regional significance, such as an International Centre of Excellence for Classical Music at Aldeburgh, firstsite:newsite visual arts facility in Colchester and DanceEast as part of the Cranfield Mill development in Ipswich
  • strengthen the research excellence and resultant commercialisation at the University of Essex through the development of Colchester Research Park and increased knowledge transfer activity
  • improve capacity and address constraints on strategic road and rail routes connecting the Haven Gateway to national markets, including the Felixstowe-Nuneaton rail route, Great Eastern main line, A12, A120 and A14
  • preserve and enhance the sub-region's landscape and biodiversity
  • continue to develop University College Suffolk as a driver of a highly skilled workforce and applied research in the sub-region.

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