How Castle Point Council uses The Data City to power its economic strategy

As a small local authority, Castle Point struggled to get granular data for specific areas within the borough. Canvey Island, for example, has a population of around 45,000, but sources such as Nomis and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) could not provide detail at that level because their sample sizes were too small, so the council could not even identify female-run businesses on the island.

The borough also has a significant skills gap, and a large population of sole traders and pre-registered businesses that do not appear in Companies House or ONS data until they formally register. This was particularly an issue for the borough’s creative industries.

Castle Point adopted The Data City platform to build a clearer, more evidence-led picture of the companies operating across the borough. The platform underpinned the council’s Economic Development Strategy and Action Plan, published in November 2025, helping the team benchmark Castle Point against neighbouring areas on Gross Value Added (GVA), productivity and employment, and assess the borough’s position against national Industrial Strategy sectors.

The council also used The Data City’s mapping tools on the Charfleet industrial estate, identifying the businesses operating within the site, their sectors and turnover, to build the evidence base for regeneration and mixed-use planning. The team uses the platform on an ongoing basis for individual company research, checking growth, ownership and directors when engaging with businesses on funding or support.

The Data City has given Castle Point a much clearer picture of its business base, strengthening both its economic strategy and its regeneration planning. Castle Point has recommended the platform to neighbouring authorities, including Rochford, which has since become a customer, and as councils across the area prepare for local government reorganisation and the creation of a new South East Essex authority, shared, comparable data across partner councils is expected to make joint working considerably easier.

The relationship with the wider Data City team has also proven to be valuable. Beyond day-to-day responsiveness, the team has taken time to build understanding within the council itself, including sitting down with a work experience student to explain how and why the platform is used.

In practice, The Data City has become part of how Castle Point builds its evidence base, plans for its business community, and prepares for change ahead, from everyday company research through to strategic planning for the borough’s future.