Between land and sea

Hi All,

Where necessary I have added links to sites, which can be looked at in detail, as there is too much information to dilute, however I have tried to summarize briefly what is available.

Economy

The District’s key economic asset is Lancaster’s expanding University. Together with the planned Lancaster Science Park, it forms a regional ‘knowledge nucleus’ bringing together academic research and knowledge based industries. Of around 54,000 employee jobs. 85% are in service industries and only 7% in manufacturing. Unemployment is close to the national average but parts of both Morecambe and Lancaster suffer deprivation. Jobs are clustered at the University, in Central Lancaster, at the White Lund industrial estate and Heysham’s port and power stations.

Further information on factors which affect economy are Growth, Employment, Regeneration Priority Areas, Shopping areas can be found in the link below,

http://www.lancaster.gov.uk/ldf-html/section_c259.html

http://www.lancaster-chamber.org.uk/userimages/Economic%20case%20for%20the%20Heysham%20M6%20Link%20v1%2000%20FINAL.pdf

Industry
Generally, Lancaster is increasingly being recognised as an ideal place to invest, work and as a credible business alternative to some of the North West’s major contributions. Its ICT sector is fast-developing an international reputation whilst its University is one of just two institutions in the UK that boasts a six-star Management School – the other London Business School. All of which combine to make Lancaster one of the fastest growing employment hotspots in the North.
When the writer Daniel Defoe visited Lancaster in the early 18th century, he was not impressed. He said it had 'little to recommend it but a decayed castle and a more decayed port'. He also said Lancaster had 'little or no trade and few people'. However, Defoe’s judgment – and vision – was no doubt clouded by the amount of rum he must have consumed when he made these comments.
In fact, Lancaster’s local economy was thriving at this time as a key port in the slave trade triangle that saw its ships export hardware and textiles to West Africa where they were traded for African slaves, who were then transported to the West Indies and Virginia and exchanged for rum, tobacco, sugar and raw cotton.
But by the nineteenth century the port’s importance dwindled significantly when the water began to silt with Liverpool, the nearest port city to Lancaster, becoming the beneficiary to its Lancashire rivals lost trading status. And with this, Lancaster economy was restricted to cotton manufacture, furniture production, oilcloth and linoleum.
As with its Northern industrial brethren, Lancaster was not immune to the decline of these traditional industries during the twentieth century and over then last twenty years, the city has been adapting to life as a post-industrial service economy with the service sector responsible for the vast majority of employment opportunities in the city and surrounding region.
However, the manufacturing sector hasn’t disappeared entirely, with a sizeable presence in the manufacture of paper, furniture, plastics, chemicals, textiles, and wall and floor coverings. Indeed, around 12 per cent of the local workforce is employed within this sector within a number of small, medium and a handful of large industrial employers in the area such as Canon Hygiene.
But the biggest source of work is the public sector. As the local government headquarters for the City and County of Lancashire which has a population of around 134,000 people (46,000 in Lancaster alone), more than 31 per cent of Lancaster’s working population is employed in the fields of public administration, health and education.
Indeed, Lancaster University is the largest single employer in the city and is largely responsible for the 7,000 jobs that can be found within the education sector.
Along with St Martin's College, Lancaster University is ranked among the UK top twelve educational research centres – a factor that contributes to employment in the higher education sector in Lancaster being four times the UK average. And the University is closely followed by the two NHS hospital trusts and Lancaster City Council, which employs around 900 staff.
The retail, hotels, leisure and wholesale sector is also a major contributor to the local economy – in employment terms. With around 3,500 jobs in the high street alone along with a buoyant night time economy – stimulated largely by the significant student population – this sector employs almost 9,000 people. And dovetailing this is a tourism sector that provides 1 in 10 of all jobs in Lancaster.
In recent years, Lancaster has taken notable strides to gradually move away from relying upon a number of so-called ‘vulnerable’ industries - such as manufacturing - and more towards a knowledge-based economy. With Lancaster University being the driving force, the city has become one of the UK’s leading centres for software, internet and communications technology (ICT).
In fact, its ambitions to replicate the Cambridge experience in which more than 5 per cent of the workforce is engaged in ICT and related activity.
Key business districts
There has been major investment in the Caton Road area, at White Lund and in the Lancaster Canal Corridor to meet current demand for commercial space and to attract new companies thinking of moving into the area. Located midway between Lancaster and Morecambe the White Lund Estate is the District’s principal industrial estate and has been developed and enlarged since the 1960s. Whereas the White Cross and Lansil Industrial Estate’s contains a mix of small workshops and larger industrial units.
Heysham is a small village on the edge of Morecambe Bay, which began as a small fishing village which grew up to become a major port in the 19th century. Today, it has a busy cargo terminal and its ferries still operate out of the port to the Isle of Man and to Ireland. The village is also somewhat dominated by Heysham nuclear power station, which produces most of Lancashire's electricity.
Its parish church, St Peters, dates back to 976 AD, but an even older chapel once stood on the site. By the time of Viking incursions into Heysham in the 10th century, the chapel was already around 300 years old. Located on the Fylde coast, the unmistakable silhouettes of nuclear reactors Heysham 1 and Heysham 2 at Half Moon Bay can be seen for miles in all directions.
Other links:
Lancaster Business Chamber of Commerce
http://www.lancaster-chamber.org.uk/
Leisure
Leisure Development is part of Lancaster City Council's Community Engagement Service - Wellbeing. The team delivers a wide range of services across the district that is accessible to all members of the community.
The team provides:

Support and advice to the local community on funding, sport and club information.
Sports coaching in a variety of settings - schools, community centres, youth clubs, parks
Sport, art and leisure activities delivered during school holidays
Training courses for adults and young people in sports leadership
Summer Playschemes delivered in areas of need for 8 to 11 year olds
Priority group work with people with disabilities, older people, ethnic minorities
Partnership working with education, Police, voluntary sector, health, sports clubs & community groups
Leads the Sport and Physical Activity Alliance for the district (SPAA)
Supports the development of sport in the district at all levels from grassroots to excellence
A range of sports events and competitions across the district
The Play Ranger Project