2 Executive Summary

This research report looks at leading domestic and international examples of airports and their surrounding regions working collaboratively to promote themselves and attract investment. The purpose is to provide an evidenced baseline for future consideration of this in the region around Gatwick Airport, and stimulate discussion among stakeholders around common approaches.

Each domestic zone is assessed according to a series of metrics which provide a rounded understanding of how it is constituted and operates. This is supported by quantitative data on the region’s performance economically and in areas such as educational attainment. International zones are explored according to a slightly different set of metrics, in an attempt to understand their role within national economies and approaches to inward investment.

The research into airport economic zones (AEZs) has highlighted that there is no single approach that is best, but rather the approach should be bespoke to the area and should result in an identity that can be clearly communicated and promoted.

AEZs require a group of willing partners to come together and work collectively. They are generally a ground-up process which originates locally. Private and public sector collaboration is prevalent in all the examples of AEZs considered in the research. The two US zones and Tenerife include private sector involvement at the highest levels of the operation. Combined authorities like Greater Manchester in the UK, or San Diego and Fairfax County in the US, have advantages where decision making is streamlined. However, multiple authority approaches can work too, as the UK Innovation Corridor shows.

Function follows form in many places. AEZs tailor how they operate based upon their particular assets and advantages. For the AEZs dominated by enterprise zones, these areas are mainly concerned with business attraction and are areas with strong existing assets, inward investment and public funding. Function may change according to external events and therefore adaptability is key. The Heathrow Strategic Planning Group has responded with agility to the shift in focus from airport expansion to recovery from the pandemic. Dublin has done likewise in response to Brexit.

The research illustrates a range of geographies and scale in AEZs. Luton Airport’s economic zone is small and concentrated. Others, such as San Diego, cover an area larger than any of the domestic AEZs in this research. Scale and appropriate geographies are a reflection of the governance framework for the AEZ. Luton is a unitary authority and that authority governs the AEZ, so focusing on that geography makes sense. San Diego is a city within the wider San Diego county – its economic zone reflects this. Some zones, such as the UK Innovation Corridor, appear to have defined their geography around regional assets – stretching their boundary to incorporate areas or facilities which align with the character of the zone.

AEZs form an identity out of the set of assets and characteristics that make that region stand out against others. An intricate understanding of the package that areas offer allows for this. Zones with a successful identity and brand, like the UK Innovation Corridor and Fairfax County, present a unified and clear articulation of the key questions an external audience have: What? Where? Why? How? Identity and brand can be overdone or duplicated to the point of confusion. Manchester Enterprise Zone, with the many sub-brands and partnership organisations that promote parts of its zone, is an example of this.

The most successful zones utilise local political power in practical ways – such as in leveraging funding, getting hold of policy levers, and profile raising. Examples include ad hoc arrangements, where advocacy seeks to resolve specific issue areas, or more formalised approaches such as the UK Innovation Corridor’s All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG). Successful advocacy and lobbying on behalf of AEZs creates a legitimate and authoritative voice for that region. It centralises communication and allows for clear messages to be conveyed to pertinent stakeholders.

Manchester Enterprise Zone has the most developed approach to attracting inward investment among the domestic zones. It has strong working links with the Department for International Trade. International examples, particularly those in the US, have greater local control over planning and incentives. This seems to allow them to adopt a more proactive approach to targeting investment. Places without incentive packages use other pull factors to draw in investment. Major companies, institutions, R&D, and skilled workers are key. Most airports within the domestic zones deliver skills academies and place innovation at the heart of the zones activity, with the exception of Luton where construction in relation to the expansion of the airport is the focus. Institutes of Technology (IoT) are also present in most of the domestic zones, highlighting how areas with airports can contribute to and benefit from higher level technical education in the local area. As areas look to recover from the pandemic, these skills and innovation assets will be key, supporting sustainable growth in key sectors of the economy.

Beyond the findings detailed above, stakeholder feedback has outlined some possible next steps which could help inform prospective work towards defining Gatwick’s future economic zone. These were:

• Having looked at airport-based economic zones, further analysis of city-based inward investment models could support further understanding of options. Examples could include Belfast and Bristol.

• Exploration of how engagement with the Department for International

Trade could be integrated into a Gatwick economic zone and bring national services to a more local level.

• Develop a greater understanding of what success looks like for AEZs. This could be achieved by conducting more in-depth interviews or conversations with some of the examples the research considered. Impact too – how do the example zones assess and measure their

impact on regional economies?

• Developing a business case would be a key step in work towards

Gatwick's future economic zone. Consulting and engaging with stakeholders to identify targets and how it would make a practical difference to the local, regional and national economy would form part of this.

• Ensure that work links in and is integrated into existing activity happening in the region and the forming of new promotional material or assets (for example, Gatwick Diamond Initiative's work on a new website).

• Looking at other potential geographies and areas which could be included in or interact with a Gatwick economic zone. Greater

Brighton, the labour market travel-to-work area around Gatwick and the LSIP geography are among these.