Watford is a vibrant and thriving UK town with a long history of attracting people and businesses that recognise it as an excellent place to live, work and do business.
Much of this success comes from its outstanding location. London is only 17 miles from Watford and easily accessible. By rail it takes less than 20 minutes to reach the capital via West Coast Mainline services to either London Euston, London Underground or London Overground networks.
Watford is also linked directly to many of the UK’s major towns and cities by road, including the M25 and M1 motorways. The town is perfectly placed for business in the heart of the ‘golden triangle’ of London, Oxford and Cambridge. And with 500,000 people within 20 minutes travel time, local businesses have access to an exceptional pool of talent.
As well as being a great location for business, Watford offers a vibrant town centre, great schools and has easy access to wonderful countryside and the more rural surroundings of Hertfordshire and beyond.
Investment projects
Watford has already delivered some exceptional transformational projects and with an ongoing investment programme amounting to more than £1.5bn, more exciting schemes are on the brink of being realised.
And with 500,000 people within 20 minutes travel time, local businesses have access to an exceptional pool of talent
One such scheme is the Croxley Rail Link, an extension of the London Underground Metropolitan Line to Watford Junction. This will create two brand new tube stations and provide underground services to the existing High Street and Watford Junction stations. The scheme commences construction in 2014 and will be operational in 2017.
Watford Health Campus is another long-term regeneration initiative, which will enable infrastructure in the form of a new access road to open up large areas of under-utilised and derelict land. The initiative will also see the construction of new hospital facilities, 700 homes and 120,000sq m of commercial space as part of an exciting mixed-use development to be delivered in partnership with Kier Property Investments over the next 10 to 15 years.
A further £100m will be spent on Charter Place, an exciting new retail investment by Intu, which will provide new retail and leisure facilities within the town. This development will make the town centre one of the largest retail centres in the UK and will be completed in 2017.
With a new tube station coming in 2017 beside two of Watford largest business parks, the new Western Gateway project will provide a great location for businesses seeking all the advantages of being located on the tube network – but at a fraction of central London prices.
Watford Junction continues to be a vital local and regional transport hub for the town and is the subject of detailed discussions for a major mixed-use regeneration scheme valued in excess of £600m. It will deliver new and improved station interchange facilities, 1,500 homes, retail and leisure uses and a significant amount of new office space.
Nurturing nature
Watford also recognises that as well as investing in building work and infrastructure projects, it is equally important to invest in the natural environment and green spaces. Cassiobury Park is immensely popular and located in the heart of the town. While retaining its charm and appeal, plans are in place to update and modernise many of the parks facilities. The £6.5m investment, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will be delivered this year.
The town is proud of its role as both a centre of regional economic significance and a major transport hub. These major investments will ensure Watford continues to be an ideal location for businesses seeking all the advantages of being close to London, without the excessive operating costs.
In order to be successful and remain a desirable place for businesses to locate, Watford is planning for the future. This planning recognises that areas do not stay the same and is ensuring that investments are made in a sustainable way, benefiting the towns businesses and its community – making it an even better place to live, work and do business.
For further information contact tara@watford-chamber.co.uk