Employment
Quality of Life
Investment
Foreign Investment
Communication & Media
Business in Brief

By 2011 it is predicted that Trowbridge will be the largest community area (Trowbridge plus 11 surrounding parishes) in Wiltshire outside of Swindon. It is forecast to reach 47,000 [as of 2002, 40,800]; this is in comparison with Chippenham community area, which is forecast to rise to 43,300 and Salisbury to 40,800.

West Wiltshire had the highest migrational net gain in Wiltshire in the period 1991-2001 and since 1999 has achieved over twice as many dwelling completions as any other District in the County. As of 2002 it had a population of 119,300.

This growth is predicted to continue according to the latest Wiltshire Structure Plan. Trowbridge is designed as a Centre for growth, the others being Salisbury and Chippenham. [Swindon being the Principal Urban Area]. Other towns set for growth in this period are Melksham and Westbury.

Of the total growth predicted for Wiltshire & Swindon by 2016, 43% is predicted for Swindon. Of the remaining 57%, 20% will be in West Wiltshire. In comparison, growth in North Wilts will be only 15% and Salisbury 13%.
The accuracy of this forecast is reinforced by that in “Your Mortgage” magazine in September 2004 that predicted a 13 per cent rise in house prices in West Wiltshire by the end of 2008, as compared with Kennet [12.3 per cent] and North Wiltshire [10.4 per cent] over the same period. The prediction is based on population trends, projected income levels, employment forecasts, interest rate projections and expected levels of housing stock.
Employment development will mirror the residential development. Thus Trowbridge is seen as a major growth area with the potential to become a major sub-regional centre.

A report from Business Link Berkshire and Wiltshire showed that in Wiltshire in 2004 five per cent more companies started up than in 2003, as compared with the national average of one per cent, making it the best performing area in the country, outside of London.
It is significant that according to the Wiltshire County Council website all the major employers in the county are located in the Trowbridge area. Airpsrung Beds, Bowyers and Virgin Mobile are situated in Trowbridge. Avon Automobile Components are located in Hampton Business Park, Semington, along with Knorr-Bremse (formerly Westinghouse Signals). The Hampton Business Park West site is situated between Trowbridge and Melksham. Wiltshire County Council is Wiltshire’s biggest public sector employer, with about 7,000 staff working across the county and is, of course, based in Trowbridge.

To put this into a wider context, Wiltshire is set to lead the way in economic growth in the southwest until at least 2006 according to economic forecasters Business Strategies. Its economy is set to grow by 2.9 per cent during the period 2002-2006, as compared with 2.5 per cent for the former Avon area and 2.1 per cent across the south of England. [Historic growth rates for Wiltshire were two per cent per annum.]

In March 2002 a survey by Barclays ranked Wiltshire the richest area in the southwest with average incomes of £24,529. A report by marketing company CACI Ltd in June 2002 calculated that salaries in Wiltshire had risen by 14.3 per cent since summer 2000. During that period those in West Wiltshire were up by 15.6 per cent, with those in North Wiltshire increasing by 11.6 per cent. The increase nationally during this period was 12.5 per cent.

Employment
Wiltshire remains the county with the lowest unemployment rate in the South West. The percentage of the working age population claiming unemployment benefit in West Wiltshire in September 2004 was 0.8 %.

There are at least seven employment agencies in the town actively seeking workers indicating the vitality of local business in the area.
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Quality of Life
A survey undertaken by Experion [Sept 2001 – latest figures available] based on social and economic factors such as disposable income, unemployment levels, retail vitality rankings and school ratings ranked West Wiltshire 67th nationally out of 376 authorities..Trowbridge, by far the largest town in West Wiltshire, would have had a significant impact on that survey.
West Wiltshire Economic Partnership
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Investment in Trowbridge
Details of investment by companies are obviously business sensitive and thus full information is unlikely to be forthcoming. Investment by the public sector in the town is usually a matter for public record.

Trowbridge retail businesses have been investing considerable sums on refurbishment and upgrading in recent years. This is reliable evidence that companies already working in the town have a strong belief in its future. Companies like Tesco, MFI, Harveys, Mackays, Wickes, ASDA, Lidl and Apetito have experience of the town as a market place, can see that market place is expanding and are responding to that demand.
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Foreign investment in Trowbridge
Many of the larger companies investing in the Trowbridge area are owned by foreign companies. These include:
Cereal Partners - Swiss/USA [Nestles/General Mills]
Trelleborg Automotive - Swedish
Nutricia - Dutch
Apetito - German
Lidl - German
Aldi - German
Asda /Walmart - USA
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Communication & Media
In May 2002 Broadband technology arrived in Trowbridge. The latest ADSL technology serves more than 12,000 homes and 1,700 business lines through the Trowbridge exchange. It allows users to download material up to 40 times faster than conventional links, enabling more efficient and cost-effective communications.

The Wiltshire Times, which is produced in Duke Street in Trowbridge, celebrated its 150th birthday in 2004. In 2003 the paper won The Newspaper Society Award for the Best Newspaper in Wales and the South West for a weekly newspaper, and also the Newsquest Newspaper of the Year, which covers all the 300 Newsquest titles throughout the United Kingdom.

The Wiltshire Times has a circulation of over 19,000 which covers an area stretching from at least Bath and Frome in Somerset in the west, to Devizes and beyond in the east, to Chippenham and North Wiltshire and to Warminster and beyond in the south.  Also in Duke Street, in a separate establishment, The Western Daily Press, which covers much of the South West of England and produces a Wiltshire edition, has a branch office with journalists. The Trowbridge branch office of The Bath Chronicle is also in this office.

The free advertising papers The Advertiser and The Star which cover much of West and North Wiltshire are also produced from the two separate Duke Street offices where their editors are based.

BBC Radio Wiltshire has studios in Bradley Road, Trowbridge.

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