Key advantages
Sector locations
See where others in your sector are located in the region
Smart Connections: Transport
Around the world, countries, states, cities and regions are fighting a 
fierce battle for investment spend and this report examines the role that transport plays in this fight. Written by Professor Austin Smyth, Head of the Department of Transport Studies at the Westminster University, the findings are supported by the opinions of over 300 senior international business people, surveyed by YouGov. Click here to download a free PDF copy of the Smart Connections Transport Report
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+44 (0)1322 312190
You can contact us by email or by calling the team on +44 (0)1322 312190
Invest Thames Gateway
The Bridge, Brunel Way,
Dartford, Kent, DA1 5GA
The Bridge, Brunel Way,
Dartford, Kent, DA1 5GA
Creative Industries
London, the global city within the Thames Gateway, has a reputation as being a leading international centre of creativity which accounts for £21 billion or 16% of London’s Gross Value Added (GVA) annually.
This industry is the second largest after the business services sector and ranges from music, video games to design and fashion.
The South East of England has a well developed Creative Industries sector both in terms of size and growth potential, with established business clusters in a number of sub sectors, including games development, film production and software design.
The sector is highly innovative, with growth often characterised by spin-offs, start-ups, new partnerships and diversification. Creative businesses in the region are dominated by self employment and small business. The region is also home to a range of larger, more established organisations including Meridian television, BBC South and South East Studios, Electronic Arts and the Oxford University Press. The creative sector as a whole consists of approximately 30,000 companies, employing over 165,000 people. (Source: SEEDA, derived from ONS data, 2007)
The region also has a number of Universities and Colleges which maintain a strong presence in the sector. Companies establishing themselves in the South East benefit from a large pool of highly skilled employees and a steady supply of quality graduates. Over the period 2005/6 the region produced over 7,500 Creative Media graduates. (Source: HESA, 2007)
Key Locations for Creative Industries
The Greenwich Peninsula is one of the Thames Gateway’s key development sites. Home to a large and exciting mixed-used urban development which covers 1.4 million sq.m (346 acres); it also is hosts the world famous O2 Arena and David Beckham’s Football Academy.
Purfleet, in Thurrock, is situated in an ideal location within the Thames Gateway, within the easterly bounds of the M25 motorway, just south of the main A13 road. Purfleet has been the site of a Unilever (formerly Van den Berghs & Jurgens) works producing Stork, Flora, Bertolli margarine since 1917, and is reputed to be the largest works of its kind in the world.
Southend-on-Sea is one of the UK’s primarily seaside resorts, but is a hub for the creative industries as well as being home to companies such as FDR (the credit card processing company), Amstrad, Maplin Electronics and a host of electrical equipment, pharmaceutical and light engineering firms.
London, the global city within the Thames Gateway, has a reputation as being a leading international centre of creativity which accounts for £21 billion or 16% of London’s Gross Value Added (GVA) annually. This industry is the second largest after the business services sector and ranges from music, video games to design and fashion.
Who Is In The Region?
Owners of media brands such as The Times, The Sun and News Of The World.Wapping, London Docklands.
Renown publisher of books, magazines, CDs, DVDs and online content.
Based in Canary Wharf.
Satellite Information Services are a media and TV services company based in Shoreditch.
Brand and corporate identity agency based in Canvey Island, Essex.
is a leading interactive and full service digital communications agency. Based in North Stifford, Essex.
Skills & Education
The Thames Gateway is home to seven universities and approximately 20 colleges of Further Education and is supported by further universities and colleges in the surrounding regions, offering courses and degrees in Creative Industries related subjects.
The University College for the Creative Arts
is one of the UK’s leading providers of specialist art and design education and has five locations across the region including Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone and Rochester. Areas of focus include sustainable design, where research is conducted into sustainable construction. This includes research into use of recycled plastics and fewer components.
Kent University, School of Drama, Film and Visual Arts
has been at the forefront of developing film studies as an academic subject. Kent are one of the three major universities in the UK for film studies, and one of the most well-regarded departments in Europe.
About the Thames Gateway
The Thames Gateway region is recognized as an innovative logistical and transport gateway for the UK, providing smart, rapid connections to London, international markets and the rest of the UK. It is home to the UK's first "Eco-Region", a pioneering initiative designed to encourage sustainability and efficiency for the 21st Century.
The Thames Gateway is the United Kingdom's largest regeneration area, stretching for 40 miles (70 kilometres) along both sides of the Thames Estuary from West Ferry in Tower Hamlets and the Docklands in East London to Southend in Essex and the Isle of Sheppey in Kent and covering an area of 240,000 acres (98,000 hectares).
The Thames Gateway occupies a strategically important location, connecting London, the UK and Continental Europe. This unique advantage gives it great potential for development and economic growth.
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