Sector strengths

Creative and digital

The creative industries are at the heart of East Kent’s economic regeneration. Margate’s Turner Contemporary generated an estimated £13.8m for the local economy in its first year, while across Kent, 2,700 technology companies employ around 13,000 highly trained professionals in the sector.

Biotech and life sciences

Discovery Park, a government Enterprise Zone, offers world-class facilities to biotech and life science businesses. 
It plans to create 2,000 jobs in the next five years, and become a major incubator for the sector, drawing on East Kent’s wide base of skilled science professionals.

Low carbon

East Kent’s extensive coastline makes it the ideal location for wind power and renewable energy sources.

London Array, off the coast of Ramsgate, is the world’s largest energy-producing offshore windfarm. Management of the site draws heavily on the area’s facilities and skilled workforce.

Tourism

The tourism industry is worth an estimated £1.1bn to the East Kent economy.

From the cathedral city of Canterbury to the contemporary culture of Margate and Folkestone, and the leisure opportunities and championship golf courses in Sandwich and Deal, East Kent has it all.