How We Can Help
Our work involves gathering information on local economies and societies to understand the key economic drivers, including their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. This often involves defining the functional economic market area (FEMA), as distinct from administrative boundaries, to understand how economies really work and their geographical extent.
Our work is used to inform plans, strategies, and investment decisions, as well as identifying projects and actions to stimulate growth.
The Importance of Grounded Economic Evidence
We understand the importance of a strong vision and framework for the future economic development of local areas, and through our work we can help to identify an area’s strategic economic development priorities. We provide focused, concise, and accessible findings, whilst ensuring sufficient detail is provided to enable developers and local communities to understand the nature and scale of development.
We are also acutely aware of the benefits of producing joint evidence across multiple local planning authorities as a means of planning for a wider area’s strategic priorities in an efficient and effective way, addressing cross-boundary issues, and reducing costs through sharing of evidence base work. We have extensive experience of delivering joint evidence in this way.
Our Approach
We tailor our approach to each client’s individual needs, drawing on our extensive experience of undertaking this work according to the requirements of national planning policy and guidance. Our work can include:
- Economic profiling: we look at current and historic economic performance to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the economy, as well as trends which may present opportunities and challenges.
- Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA) analysis: we focus our analysis on: travel to work areas; housing market areas; transport networks; administrative areas such as local or unitary authorities, and regional economic development actors; consumer service market areas; and other consideration as appropriate e.g. business and sector clustering.
- Stakeholder engagement: we consult with key stakeholders, including policy makers and private sector representatives, to test and validate emerging findings, and provide an opportunity for others to input and comment on the process.
HJA were instructed by the Heart of the South West LEP to undertake an employment land study for the area, to provide a better understanding of the current supply of – and demand for – employment land across the area, the challenges faced in bringing this land forward for development, and potential solutions to address…
We carried out a study of 33 of the largest towns in the Enterprise M3 LEP area to inform the preparation of a Local Industrial Strategy. We developed a typology of towns and networks that link them together, set out a longitudinal analysis of each town’s historic performance, and looked at future growth opportunities for…
HJA was appointed by South Somerset District Council (SSDC) to review the previously identified functional economic market area (FEMA) for the district and consider any sub areas within it. Our work formed part of the evidence base to underpin employment and economic policies within the Local Plan.
HJA were instructed by the Heart of the South West LEP to undertake an employment land study for the area, to provide a better understanding of the current supply of – and demand for – employment land across the area, the challenges faced in bringing this land forward for development, and potential solutions to address…
We carried out a study of 33 of the largest towns in the Enterprise M3 LEP area to inform the preparation of a Local Industrial Strategy. We developed a typology of towns and networks that link them together, set out a longitudinal analysis of each town’s historic performance, and looked at future growth opportunities for…
