Hi-Tech Industry

M4 Corridor

The Corridor

• New industrial regions in Britain have tended to grow up along main communication routes.

• The best example of this is the "Sunrise Strip", which takes in the area around motorways such as the M11, M23, M3 and, most importantly, the M4.

• These industries are described as being footloose. They have generally grown up over the last 25 years in "growth areas", along communications routes.

• Although they do bring prosperity to regions, the new industries actually employ few people in comparison to the older, declining, heavy industries.

• Traditional location factors have been super-seeded by newer ones.

Other Factors

• As access to raw materials is relatively unimportant nowadays, location, although dominated by communications considerations, also can increasingly take into account the social needs of its employees.

• Thus climatic, scenic, health and entertainment factors have to be included.

• In turn the industries try to locate near to places where a skilled workforce could be employed, such as around the university towns of Oxford or Cambridge.

Sunrise Strip Advantages

• The motorway system, which allows easy access to all parts of the United Kingdom.

• Easy access, via the roads, to the Channel Tunnel and ports to allow export abroad.

• The close proximity of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stanstead and Luton airports, all of which could be used to export products.

• The skilled workforce found in university towns of Oxford, Cambridge, Reading and Bristol.

Sunrise Strip Advantages

• Close proximity and good access to London, where the major government functions and financial trading occurs.

• The concentration of other industries means that ideas and knowledge could be shared, there will be a concentration of suitable skilled labour and transport costs may be reduced between agglomerated industries.

• A very attractive natural environment, which would provide a very pleasant place to live for the workers.

• Areas such as the Cotswolds and the Mendip Hills are in easy reach of the Sunrise Strip.

Examples Of Similar Industries

•1. Silicon Glen in Central Scotland.

•2. Silicon Valley in California, USA.