Jobs up by 50 per cent in area boom forecast
Rapid rises in jobs and population will make East Cambridgeshire one of the fastest growing districts in the East of England, a new study predicts.
The number of jobs on offer in East Cambridgeshire will rise 50 per cent by 2031, according to a model prepared by Oxford Economics for the East of England Development Agency’s (EEDA) draft economic strategy.
The rate of increase, with the number of people working in East Cambridgeshire expected to rise from 28,500 in 2006 to 42,800 in 2031, is second only to Mid Bedfordshire in the East. The district’s population is expected to rise steeply, with an increase from 79,700 in 2006 to 102,400 by 2031, bringing a 28.5 per cent rise.
The forecasts were welcomed by the District Council as fitting with its aims on increased employment. Coun Ron Bradney, Mayor of Ely and the council’s economic champion, said: “I actually think a 50 per cent rise is not out of reach. Hopefully, we will do better than that. Certainly, we are looking at trying to get employers to come in, it is just a matter of targeting and making the right approaches.”
Coun Bradney added that he is working on strategies to attract successful businesses to Ely. He said, “It would not just be start-ups, as it has been in the past, but maybe more established names.”
Job creation and resulting population growth should be welcomed, Coun Bradney believes. He said “We want to get the best for Ely rather than saying ‘not in my backyard’. “We want to attract people who want to contribute, people who want to make a future and bring up their families in this area.”
To view the ECDC Press Release as a .pdf please open it here
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