APPENDIX 1

Appendix 1

Cannock Chase District Council: Key Economic Linkages

About this document

The information set out in this document is presented in order to provide a range of current and
historical information regarding Cannock Chase and its relationship with surrounding areas in the
West Midlands.

The sections below include Transport; Travel to Work; Migration; Housing Market; Skills and
employment; Industrial specialisation; and supply chain and clustering.

This information has been gathered from a range of sources, which are identified throughout.
Further background or links to source information can be provided upon request.

This document has been produced by the Policy & Performance Team, Cannock Chase District
Council, during August 2015.

Introduction

The District of Cannock Chase covers over seven thousand hectares on the northern border of the
West Midlands conurbation and forms one of the eight Districts of the County of Staffordshire. It is
bordered by the metropolitan Borough of Walsall, Lichfield, South Staffordshire, East Staffordshire
and the County Town of Stafford. The District itself incorporates the towns of Cannock, Rugeley and
Hednesford and is divided into fifteen Wards.

A key feature of the District is its strong transport infrastructure including the M6, M6 Toll and A5
trunk road. In addition to a network of bus routes, railway stations at Rugeley, Hednesford and
Cannock provide connections to Stafford in the North and Birmingham and Walsall to the South.

For many years the District was closely associated with the coal mining industry. Recent years have
seen wide ranging changes to the economic and industrial composition of the District, including
substantial investment in the local infrastructure and the development of a broad base of
employers.

At the time of the 2011 Census Cannock Chase’s population totalled 97,462, with 40,664 households
in the District.

Cannock Chase District Council has been a member of both the Greater Birmingham and Solihull
Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP) and the Stoke on Trent and Staffordshire Local Enterprise
Partnership (StokeStaffsLEP) since their formation in 2011.

1
Transport

Rail Network
Cannock Chase District is currently served by four train stations – Hednesford, Cannock, Rugeley
Town and Rugeley Trent Valley – linking to Stafford to the North and Walsall and Birmingham to the
South.

Current Journey Times

The current rail network

2
Figure 1: Current rail network. Source: http://www.networkwestmidlands.com/train/NetworkMap.aspx
 Metropolitan rail and rapid transit network map – the vision

Figure 2: Vision for West Midlands transit network. Source: http://www.wmita.org.uk/

The future transformation of the West Midlands rail and transit networks is based on suburban
rail, metro and light rail lines using one network. Centring upon the multi-million pound
investment in Birmingham New Street station and the HS2 terminus earmarked for Curzon
Street, the West Midlands Integrated Transport Authority also proposes to extend the tram
network across the wider conurbation to enhance connectivity with the urban centre.

Chase Line Electrification

The £78.2m electrification scheme for the Chase Line between Cannock and Walsall remains
on target for completion in 2017.

Passenger data shows that over 574,000 journeys were made from Cannock, Hednesford and
Rugeley during 2013/4.

Electrification of the 15mile strategic “missing link” in the West Midlands electrified rail
network is intended to reduce congestion and provide faster, more frequent, more energy
efficient rail services.

KPMG have predicted that the scheme will have a West Midlands Regional Employment Impact
of 1,370 new jobs and a West Midlands Gross Value Added benefit of £113m per annum.
3
Road Network and Connections
Cannock Chase benefits from a strategic location at the heart of the road network for Great Britain.

The M6 and M6 Toll provide motorway connectivity North and South, alongside significant main
road arteries such as the A5, A34 and A51 linking the District to Midlands regions and beyond. 1

From Cannock

From Cannock

The central geographic location of Cannock Chase and its access to strategic
transport links are significant factors in the economics of the District.

1
All distances and travel times calculated via AA Route planner
http://www.theaa.com/route-planner/index.jsp
4
Travel to Work
Travel to Work data from the Census 2011 provides a robust evidence base for understanding the
main locations for commuting to work both inwards and outwards from Cannock Chase. The Top 10
locations for inflow and outflow are indicated in Figure 3 below.

Figure 3: Travel to work flow. Source: Census 2011, ONS via Metro Dynamics

Travel inflow

NB: due to several Districts in Staffordshire being members of both Stoke & Staffs LEP and the
GBSLEP, the data presented in the travel to work information includes these Districts in the analyses
for both LEP areas. Therefore totals for East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth are included in
both Figure 4 and Figure 5 below.

5
Inflow from Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire LEP Areas

8,824 residents from areas in Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire LEP commuted into Cannock Chase –
59% of all people (14,879) who commuted into the District for work.

Figure 4: Travel to Work Inflow into CC from StokeStaffsLEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS

Inflow from Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Areas

4,087 residents from areas in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP commuted into Cannock
Chase – 27% of all people (14,879) who commuted into the District for work.

Figure 5: Travel to Work into CCDC from GBSLEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS

6
Inflow from Black Country LEP Areas

3,742 residents from areas in the Black Country LEP commuted into Cannock Chase – 25% of all
people (14,879) who commuted into the District for work.

Figure 6: Travel to work into CCDC from Black Country LEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS

7
Travel Outflow

NB: due to several Districts in Staffordshire being members of both StokeStaffsLEP and the GBSLEP,
the data presented in the travel to work information includes these Districts in the analyses for both
LEP areas. Therefore totals for East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth are included in both
Figure 7 and Figure 8 below.

Outflow to Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire LEP Areas

11,891 Cannock Chase residents commuted to these areas – 50.5% of all residents (23,534) who
commuted out of the District for work.

Figure 7: Travel to work outflow from CCDC to StokeStaffsLEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS

Outflow to Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP Areas

7,998 Cannock Chase residents commuted to these areas – 34% of all residents (23,534) who
commuted out of the District for work.

8
Figure 8: Travel to work outflow from CCDC to GBSLEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS

Commuting to Black Country LEP Areas

6,460 Cannock Chase residents commuted to these areas – 27% of all residents (23,534) who
commuted out of the District for work.

Figure 9: Travel to work outflow from CCDC to Black Country LEP. Source: Census 2011, ONS.

The combined data for travel outflow to the GBSLEP and Black Country areas thus comprises 61% of
the total commuting outflow of the District. Figure 10 below illustrates the most prevalent
destinations for commuters from Cannock Chase beyond the county of Staffordshire.

9
Figure 10: Top 10 outflow destinations beyond Staffordshire. Source: Census 2011, ONS.

Migration
Migration analysis examines the volume of individuals that moved home between areas in the year
preceding the 2011 Census. Figure 4 below identifies the ten largest areas for migrating in and out of
the District during this period.

10
 Figure 11: Migration data for CCDC. Source: Census 2011, ONS via Metro Dynamics.

7 of the Top 10 origins for migration into 7 of the Top 10 origins for migration out
Cannock Chase are located within the of Cannock Chase are located within the
GBSLEP & Black Country areas GBSLEP & Black Country areas

The Top 3 locations for migration both into and out of the Cannock Chase are
the same – South Staffordshire, Lichfield and Walsall.

11
 Housing Market2

“Housing Market Areas” (HMAs)

are geographical assessments of
the factors influencing where
people choose to search for
property and move home, based
upon factors including travel to
work information and migration
data (see above) from the Census
and elsewhere. The DCLG report
“Geography of Housing Market
Areas” notes that “market
dynamics and population changes
don’t respect administrative
boundaries. They tend to cut
across them, operating at different
scales”, and in recognition of this
HMAs are determined by
household behaviour and market
signals, such as commuting (labour
market) and migration (housing
market) across local authority
boundaries.

The Strategic Housing Needs Study

produced for the GBSLEP and Black
Country Local Authorities by Peter
Brett Associates (PBA) adopts the
methodology developed by the
Centre for Advanced Urban Studies
and adopted by DCLG.

As illustrated by the map above, the PBA report locates Cannock Chase in the Greater Birmingham Housing
Market Area (within the red boundary). Neighbouring HMAs are signified with green boundary lines. North of
the District, Stafford and its surrounds are included in the North Staffordshire HMA, and thus considered to be
part of a separate market area. Similarly, East Staffordshire is considered to form part of the East Midlands
HMA centred on Derby.

2
HMA information sourced from Peter Brett Associates “Strategic Housing Needs Study”. DCLG report can be
accessed at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/housing-market-areas
12
Skills and Employment
Levels of adult skills in Cannock Chase are illustrated in relation to other West Midlands areas in
Figures 12 and 13 below. Figure 12 identifies the percentage of adults with no qualifications, of
which Cannock Chase has the eight highest ratio in the region. Conversely, the District has the joint
third lowest proportion of adults with qualifications of NVQ4 (Degree level) or above.

Figure 12: Percentage of working age population with no qualifications, West Midlands local authorities, Januaru 2914-
December 2014. Source: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

13
Figure 13: Percentage of working age population with NVQ$ or above, West Midlands local authorities, January 2014-
December 2014. Source: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

Levels of Job Seekers’ Allowance claims in Cannock Chase have reduced significantly in recent years.
The latest data, as seen in Figure 14, places the District (1.2%) in the mid-range of West Midlands
local authority areas and significantly below regional (2.1%) and national (1.7%) averages.

Figure 14: JSA Claimant rates for West Midlands local authorities, July 2015. Source: https://www.nomisweb.co.uk

14
Percentages of young people identified as “Not in Education, Employment or Training” (NEETs) in the
districts in Staffordshire are illustrated in Figure 15 below. Although this identifies only one month’s
data, Cannock Chase does have a consistent trend of higher NEETs than neighbouring Staffordshire
districts. NB data for NEETS across West Midlands authorities is not available at the time of writing.

Figure 15: Percentage of NEETS in June 2015 for Staffordshire Districts. Source: Staffordshire County Council Skills &
Further Learning.

Economic Analysis
Industrial specialisation

The Functional Economic Market Area (FEMA) study produced by Metro Dynamics for the West
Midlands Combined Authority indicates a number of “industrial specialisations” within the region.
These are a measure of geographical concentration within a local area sourced from the ONS
Business Registration and Employment Survey (BRES), where a value greater than 1 indicates a
degree of specialisation. The broad industry specialisations in the West Midlands area are indicated
in Table 1 below, with further analysis illustrating the level of specialisation within Cannock Chase
District. The cells highlighted in Green indicate a significant degree of specialisation with a value of
1.2 or above.

Broad Industry Specialisation

Sector Black Country C&W GBS Stoke & CCDC

LEP area Staffs
Mining quarrying 1.52 1.15 0.72 0.76 0.49
& utilities
Manufacturing 1.87 1.28 1.26 1.58 1.73
Construction 1.14 1.13 0.95 1.16 2.04
Motor Trades 1.30 1.46 1.13 1.37 1.63
Wholesale 1.70 1.23 1.21 1.37 2.62
Transport & 1.08 1.29 0.96 1.27 1.35
storage

15
Public admin & 0.86 0.83 1.17 0.91 0.64
defence
Health 1.12 0.84 1.03 1.07 0.73
Table 1: Broad Industry Specialisation. Source: BRES 2013 location data, NOMIS.

This analysis indicates that Cannock Chase has particular specialisation in the sectors of
manufacturing, construction, motor trades, transport and wholesale. Manufacturing and wholesale
are significant sectors across all 4 LEP areas, whilst in motor trades the District has similar
specialisation to the Stoke on Trent & Staffordshire, Black Country and Coventry & Warwick areas.

16
Specialisation – Manufacturing

The WMCA FEMA identifies Manufacturing as the most prevalent specialisation across the whole
West Midlands area. It states that “9% of Great Britain’s manufacturing employment” is accounted
for by the 3 LEP areas. Closer analysis of specialisation identifies the manufacture of fabricated
metal products, machinery and equipment, plastic and rubber products and the repair of machinery
as common specialisms across the geography. Table 2 below includes Cannock Chase District data
for the most significant common specialisms, illustrating that the District has significant strengths in
manufacture of metal products (4.98) and motor vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers (3.40).

Sector Black Country C&W GBS Stoke & CCDC

LEP area Staffs
Manufacture of 1.61 0.52 0.55 0.52 0.88
wearing apparel
Manufacture of 1.34 0.76 0.82 1.28 1.75
wood
Manufacture of 1.70 1.35 1.21 1.56 2.28
rubber & plastic
products
Manufacture of 6.01 1.02 1.42 1.77 2.45
basic metals
Manufacture of 4.58 1.62 1.93 2.14 4.98
fabricated metal
products
Manufacture of 1.89 1.64 1.31 2.22 0.84
machinery &
equipment n.e.c
Manufacture of 1.79 6.08 4.53 1.55 3.40
motor vehicles,
trailers & semi-
trailers
Other 1.40 0.78 1.76 0.75 1.15
manufacturing
Table 2: Manufacturing specialisation. Source: BRES 2013 location data, NOMIS.

17
Supply chain & clustering
Supply chain linkages & significant business presence

Automotive

There are considerable supply chain linkages within the GBSLEP geography and across the West
Midlands area. For example, of Jaguar Land Rover’s purchased materials, 50% is spent in the UK, a
high proportion of which is in the Birmingham/Solihull and Cannock Chase areas. Thyssen Krupp
Tallent, Cannock’s largest employer, supplies both Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) as well as other
vehicle manufacturers.

Local Tier 1 vehicle component manufacturers include Interlink Supplies, who produce seat, door
and bonnet striker loop assemblies to Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) and BI Composites who produce
plastic injection mouldings for JLR.

C & H Howe is a Tier 2 supplier of steel pressed components based in Cannock. They supply JLR,
Toyota, Nissan and Aston Martin.

HellermannTyton, an electrical wiring company who service the automotive and other sectors, are
moving their UK base to Cannock from Walsall. Work recently started at Kingswood Lakeside on
their new building.

Logistics

Pentalver’s inland depot is located in Cannock, “at the heart of the Midlands close to Birmingham”,
alongside facilities and services at the UK's 4 main ports. The company highlights the “strategic
location and its proximity to the M6, as well as many of the UK’s other major distribution corridors”
of its site in the District.

Rugeley is the base for Amazon’s Fulfilment Centre, which at 700,000 square feet is the same size as
nine and a half football pitches.

Services

DedRed, previously known as Ward Lovett, is a creative PR & Marketing company formerly based in
Birmingham City Centre and now located at Hawks Green in Cannock Chase. It has developed its
client base and retained many of its Birmingham based accounts such as Aston Business School and
Cousins Furniture, based in Tysley, and continue to expand their client base which now includes
Briggs Equipment, The Caparo Group, Brindley Motors Group, Assa Abloy, Cousins Furniture and
Carvers Building Supplies.

Over the last 10 years a number of businesses have chosen to locate in Cannock Chase in order to
maximise its accessibility, and to also establish or retain a Birmingham identity. For example: the
Ramada Hotel in Cannock is the chain’s Birmingham North outlet.

The 3663 First for Food Service Birmingham depot is located in Cannock and supply numerous
companies in Birmingham, Solihull and the other parts of the West Midlands region.

18
In addition, some of the large service based companies in Cannock will have numerous regionally
based clients. For example, Briggs Equipment materials handling services provide equipment across
the West Midlands from Cannock. Similarly, Finning, Laser Process and Aggreko have numerous
clients in the across the region.

The Chase Chamber of Commerce is part of the Greater Birmingham Chambers Group alongside
Birmingham, Solihull, Lichfield & Tamworth, and Burton & District. Chase Chamber serves business
across a wide area of South Staffordshire, including Rugeley, Hednesford, and Cannock.
For more information, see http://www.chase-chamber.com/

19