It continues to be tough going in the region although West London, influenced by the general improvement in the capital, is setting the pace. Indeed the attraction of West London has led Blackstone to put Chiswick Park onto the market for £945 million, a near doubling of the price it paid 18 months ago. Now is the time to look further ahead and here the outstanding change will come with the completion of Crossrail in 2017.
This will have a substantial impact, notably on Maidenhead, by giving speedy access to the Thames Valley. That is also being helped by the £800 million rebuilding of Reading Railway Station. Elsewhere, the regeneration of Bracknell is going ahead and that should help the business climate by bringing better retailing. The provision of better shopping has been shown to bring a broader result in many places, such as High Wycombe and Hemel Hempstead. It helps to attract companies to the town.
What is apparent is that the Thames Valley is a good guide to the dynamic of the UK economy and when the region is doing well then that applies to the rest of the country. The reason is that it attracts the technology companies that are likely to grow faster than the average.