2015-08-12
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A region with diverse industrial base.
The region has an abundance of natural strengths, with major coal deposits and major rivers such as the Trent (the 3rd largest in the UK), an ideal area for energy supply.
In the early 1990s traditional industries – mining, textiles, manufacturing - have suffered a long-term decline
Back in the early 1980s the EM produced more coal than any other region - nearly a third of the UK total.
During the 1980s, output fell & by the end of the decade Yorkshire & the Humber had overtaken the EM as the largest coal-producing region.
Historically, the clothing & footwear industries have been associated with this region.
The region is notable for its forests (Sherwood Forest).
Major cities: Derby, Leicester, Lincoln, Nottingham, the town of Northampton.
Nottingham – the largest city & the generally recognized “capital” of the EM (twin-town of Minsk).
Nottingham & Leicester are centers of knitwear industry and knitting machines manufacturing.
Manufacturing remains the largest sector in the regional economy.
Derby and Loughborough (Лавборо) are important research centers for transport and aerospace-related engineering industries.
In 2009, 17% of economic output in the EM was in manufacturing.
Important employers in the area include train maker Bombardier, Rolls Royce, and Toyota at Derby. Nottingham – Boots Pharmaceuticals and Imperial Tobacco & Siemens (gas turbines). 9% of all jobs in the region are in logistics.
Traffic in the region is growing at 2% per year – the highest of all UK regions.
The fertile land in the east of the region has permitted the development of a prosperous agricultural and horticultural (садовый) industry.
A third of agricultural land is given over to wheat, & the region is the second biggest wheat producer after the South East with one of the highest yields in the country.
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Yorkshire & the Humber
The region covers an area of 15, 400 km2 & represents the divide between English uplands and lowlands.
Its Western part is a mainly hilly area forming part of the Pennine Range. Eastern – flat and low-lying.
3 National Parks lie either wholly or partly within the region – North York Moors (Йоркширские пустки), the Yorkshire Dales, the Peak District.
South & West Yorkshire are largely urbanized, commercialized and industrialized whilst North Yorkshire and parts of East Riding & North Lincolnshire are rural.
Urban development is centered in Leeds in West Yorkshire and Sheffield in South Yorkshire.
During the period of industrialization, the availability of coal and iron ore in Yorkshire meant that a powerful and economically important steel industry could flourish.
Woolen industry was concentrated in West Yorkshire and coal-mining and metalworking in South Yorkshire, which is traditionally the centre of cutlery manufacturing.
To the east, the ports of the Humber are a base for a thriving fishing industry.
Since the early 1990s the importance of coal that once dominated the economy of Yorkshire, has declined dramatically. Despite this, the region has suffered less than other coal-producing parts of Britain.
Sheffield became a centre for specialist steels (сталелитейное производство), which were less affected by foreign imports.
Away from the industrialized centers, agriculture forms the basis of local economics with the rich fertile lowland areas suited for arable crops & uplands - for sheep farming.
More recently, a thriving tourist industry has developed (Yorkshire Mores & the Dales, York).
The major cities of the region - Leeds, Bradford & Sheffield – are associated with specialized manufacturing.
Some economic recovery has come through Japanese motor vehicle companies establishing plants in the region to produce car parts.
15% of the GVA in the region in 2009 came from manufacturing. This highlights the importance of traditional industries (steel, engineering & textiles) to the economy of the region.
Newer industries of the region also list electronics and food processing.
The region has an above-average proportion of residents (aged 16 to 64 & working) employed in routine occupations requiring low level of skills - 13% (in 2011) compared with 11% in the UK.
