Newbury has been named as the top tech town in the UK by Tech Nation.
The 2018 Tech Nation’ report found that Newbury’s digital density far outstrips most other towns in the UK, including Reading and Basingstoke. It also said that Newbury is part of a ‘productivity power path’ along the M4 corridor and singled the town out as having benefitted particularly well from growth in the tech sector as a result of high levels of productivity across its local tech ecosystems.
This week’s announcement follows news earlier this month that West Berkshire has the best rural broadband in the country according to ThinkBroadband, with average speeds exceeding parts of central London.
West Berkshire Council has focussed heavily on digital connectivity and infrastructure in recent years and has committed to full superfast rollout by 2020. It has overseen around £20m of investment in rural broadband since 2015, working with providers to ensure that even the most hard-to-reach areas can benefit from good broadband speeds.
Welcoming the report, Graham Jones, Leader of West Berkshire Council, said:
“I am so pleased to see that Newbury has been recognised as the top tech destination in the UK. As a council, we’ve not been afraid to make bold decisions on digital infrastructure and this has clearly paid off. Everybody knows that Newbury is a great place to live but this report shows it is so much more than that. Our broadband is the best in the country and our connectivity is unparalleled locally and nationally. Not only this, but we’ve got a great local economy and our residents are well-qualified. In short, we are truly open for business. I’d encourage businesses of any size to consider all that West Berkshire can offer them.”
