Milton Keynes represented on the international stage
Thursday February 7th, 2013
Milton Keynes Council Chief Executive, David Hill, recently returned from a whirlwind visit to China where he was able to promote Milton Keynes as an attractive and economically successful location.
Mr Hill made the gruelling trip to Beijing as guest of the business channel of the China Central Television Company (CCTV2), to take part in a one day Urban Development Forum, hosted at the Great Hall of the People.
The Forum consisted of Chinese national, municipal and business leaders, wanting to analyse the benefits and the challenges of urbanisation, and seeking to learn from the experience of others elsewhere in the world.
The Forum culminated in a two hour panel debate involving Mr Hill, the deputy Mayor of Sandy Springs (Georgia, USA) and the mayors of 2 major Chinese cities.
Mr Hill took the opportunity to hammer home Milton Keynes’ many selling points, including those that could provide a useful template for Chinese authorities wishing to promote successful and sustainable growth:
• Milton Keynes’ excellent location
• Its access to the national motorway and rail network
• The planned urban/green mix of development and open spaces
• The thriving economy, with dozens of household name ‘blue chip’ companies making their home in Milton Keynes
• Quality retail and leisure activities, such as thecentre:mk and Xscape
• Mechanisms to deliver critical infrastructure in advance of need, to help maintain quality of life
• A focus on sustainability
• Strong support for improved educational attainment and training
• World famous, iconic institutions such as the Open University and Bletchley Park
Mr Hill said: “It was an opportunity too good to miss and I was impressed by the calibre of some of my fellow delegates. There were some real heavyweights there.
“Milton Keynes is already recognised by many in China is being an exemplar new city and we have welcomed a number of visitors from China in recent years. I hope my visit will have boosted Milton Keynes’ reputation in China.
“Although it was a whistle-stop tour, we were made very welcome by our hosts who clearly see Milton Keynes for the innovative and potentially ‘world leading’ place it is.”
Milton Keynes has proportionately more foreign owned businesses than any other city
(source: Centre for Cities 2012)
http://www.centreforcities.org.uk/assets/files/2012/12-07-06_Open_for_Business_tables.pdf
Milton Keynes 7.0%
Cambridge 5.1%
Oxford 6.0%
Bristol 5.1%
London 4.8%
Southampton 4.8%
Newcastle 4.3%
Leeds 4.2%
Derby 4.1%
Birmingham 4.0%
Manchester 3.8%
Hull 3.8%
York 3.7%
Nottingham 3.6%
Liverpool 3.6%
Sheffield 3.6%
Leicester 3.5%
Bradford 3.2%
Preston 3.1%
Stoke 2.9%
(based on English locations of around 250,000 population and above)
MK has more Eurozone HQ businesses per 10,000 population than anywhere else
(source: Centre for Cities 2012)
http://www.centreforcities.org.uk/home-grown-enterprise-is-needed-to-offset-potential-fallout-from-the-eurozone-in-uk-cities.html
MK has more businesses per 10,000 population than anywhere else
(source: Centre for Cities 2012)
http://www.centreforcities.org.uk/home-grown-enterprise-is-needed-to-offset-potential-fallout-from-the-eurozone-in-uk-cities.html
