Stoke-On-Trent City Council have released a brochure, in an attempt to entice businesses to the area. The council believes the area has lots to offer business and harbours the ambition of becoming a UK commercial property and business hub.
The ‘make it Stoke-On-Trent’ scheme was launched as a platform for promoting the area and they state: ‘Stoke-on-Trent is a cost competitive location with excellent connectivity and a rich industrial heritage. It offers a wealth of development opportunities for businesses looking to relocate or those wishing to grow within the city. The right location, lower overheads, plus our award-winning free recruitment and training service create a compelling case for Stoke-on-Trent as a major UK business location.’
A major plus point for Stoke-On-Trent is the location of the city. The ‘make it Stoke-On-Trent’ brochure states: ‘Stoke-On-Trent’s location at the centre of England creates easy connections to the rest of the UK by road and rail, creating a hugely efficient distribution network to massive catchment area of customers.’
Added to this, the brochure asserts: ‘Four international airports are within an hour’s drive of North Staffordshire and Manchester Airport is the 3rd largest in the UK. Flights from these airports are available up to 7 times daily to New York, 24 times daily to Paris and 4 times daily to Dubai.’
The cost of commercial property in Stoke-On-Trent is another factor which the ‘make it Stoke-On-Trent’ scheme wishes to highlight, saying: ‘Office costs per square meter in Stoke-On-Trent are on average £140 cheaper than Manchester and £170 cheaper than Birmingham. Large industrial unit costs per square metre are £15 cheaper than Manchester and £23 cheaper than Birmingham.’
Whether or not Stoke-On-Trent can rival the commercial might of Birmingham and Manchester, remains to be seen, but the attempts to create new business for the area are certainly valiant.
