St Albans best placed to cope with Government spending cuts (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

St Albans best placed to cope with Government spending cuts

10:55am Thursday 9th September 2010 in

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ST Albans is among the best placed areas in the country to cope with deep Government spending cuts, according to a new report published today.

The Experian report, commissioned by the BBC, found that the St Albans district was least likely to be affected by any cutbacks in the East of England.

According to the report, Elmbridge in Surrey is the most resilient area in Britain, followed by St Albans.

Director of St Albans Chamber of Commerce Mike Weaver, a part time advisor for St Albans Enterprise Agency, credited the area's good road links and close proximity to London. The district, he added, benefits from extra incentives to encourage people to shop locally, such as Harpenden's Keep it Local Campaign and trade directory, helping to keep business alive.

"I think we are better placed than most," the Harpenden councillor said. "We are all going through tensions, but St Albans at the moment is still quite bouyant.

"I think we have some location advantages - being at the foot of the A1M, the M1 and the M25. We also have the benefit of our rail links into London.

"This means that industry tends to stay here.

"There's also a huge demand for business start ups in the area."

The research studied each local authority area and its ability to withstand sudden changes in the economy, concentrating on four key themes: business, community, people and place.

The coalition Government has warned individual departments to prepare for cuts of about 25 per cent.