Newham Sparks

Newham Sparks is an ambitious plan of action for Newham to become London’s destination for businesses, innovators and investors in the data sector.  

Our research collaboration with UCL estimates that the UK data economy could be worth almost one trillion by 2035 with over 980,000 data professionals in the UK. For Newham this equates to 5,500 new jobs in our borough alongside £104 million Gross Value Added in our local economy. 

We will build on the impressive range of connections and data infrastructure we already have to support data businesses to grow and scale. 

We will unlock the value of data and digital in everything we do as a Council; from keeping our streets clean, managing refuse collections, promoting sustainable transport and improving the air we breathe.   

We will build the future workforce by equipping our young residents with data skills to build a talent pipeline. We will support residents of all ages to develop their data skills and literacy to help them thrive in the information age and seize the opportunities we see here and now.  

We have exciting plans to transform the East Ham Town Hall into a Data Campus to upskill our residents and we are actively looking for industry partners.  

Newham has access to great connections and infrastructure that can help your business

Newham benefits from the eastward movement of London’s economy, high levels of transport connectivity, rapid increases in the supply of office and industrial space and two Digital Districts located around the Olympic Park and the Royal Docks.

We are home to Here East in Stratford, which is an innovation and technology campus including Staffordshire University, Loughborough University, University College London, Teeside University and Plexal co-working for startups. Nearby East Bank is a brand new cultural development for innovation with businesses including BBC, Sadler’s Wells, University of Arts London College of Fashion and the V&A museum. We are developing a data corridor along the Lea Valley. We are transforming East Ham Town Hall into a Data Campus. We also have an amazing space at the Royal Docks which is focused on green tech with tax break benefits for businesses.

Locating in Newham gives your business access to a diverse and intelligent future workforce. Newham is one of the most diverse boroughs in the country, with over 102 languages spoken. Newham’s young people also perform higher than the national average in exams (87% achieving 4+ in English). Newham is a young population, where the average age is 33.

Newham is supporting our educators to bring data skills into the classroom and build the talent pipeline of the future

Newham is home to high-quality schools and diverse, high-achieving students. We are currently building a picture of what data skills children need to learn in order to thrive and be prepared for jobs of the future. We will work with our educators to integrate data-related skills and knowledge into the national curriculum, ensuring that students are equipped to thrive in an increasingly data-driven world. Our aim is to build a talent pipeline of diverse candidates to fill the growing number of data jobs we expect to see in the future.

Newham Council is a local government data leader for climate change

The climate emergency is the biggest challenge of our lifetime. We need radical innovation to help us become a zero-carbon borough.  This means we are taking new approaches across everything we do and to make it easier for residents to be greener and live more sustainable lives.