Partnership steps up battle for investment

ECONOMIC development partnership Choose Suffolk has stepped up its campaign to attract investment to the county by updating its “Snapshot” online data comparison feature.

The Snapshot tool now offers businesses which are considering relocating to Suffolk even more in-depth information about how the county compares with other locations, as well as being more user-friendly.

In particular, the new version of Snapshot – which is now live at www.choosesuffolk.com/snapshot – has a greater geographical reach and now includes data on major Europe cities as well as other locations in the UK.

The aim is to help visitors to choose the right location when they are considering moving or expanding their business by comparing factors such as as local commercial and residential property prices, the labour market, education, crime and policing and transport links.

The resulting comparative datasets can then be used to create a profile of Suffolk and other areas, which can be printed, saved or emailed to a colleague.

Celia Hodson, chief executive of Choose Suffolk, said: “Snapshot is a great inward investment tool for Suffolk and this upgrade, which is part of the ongoing Enterprise Engagement Programme, will give visitors a more in-depth view of how the county compares to a far wider catchment.

“The original version compared 24 towns and cities, mainly across the East of England, the South East and East Midlands.

“Now visitors can source datasets on all the 50 capital cities and towns of the UK and European countries.”

She added: “We are also working to include information on the capitals of India and China. The continued evolution of Snapshot is designed to give a more thorough picture to businesses about the type of information they can access that is relevant to their relocation plans.”