South East Region

Introduction to the South East Region

The South East region encompasses 19 county and unitary authorities and 55 districts, stretching in an arc around London, from Thanet in the south-east to the New Forest in the south-west and to Aylesbury Vale and Milton Keynes in the north-west.

While it is without a single dominant urban centre, the region is home to two cities with populations of around 250,000 (Medway and Brighton and Hove) and five cities with populations of greater than 100,000. The South East is home to over eight million people in some three million households.

The South East is an environmentally attractive region.

• 6,500 square kilometres of the region are designated as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB); a third of the total area of such designations for England. Two of these, the New Forest and the South Downs, have National Park Status.
• Some 40% of the region’s area is the subject of some form of protective designation, such as AONB, Green Belt or Sites of Special Scientific Interest.
• More than 80% of the region is classified as rural according to recent statistics issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The major south coast ports, including Dover, Southampton and Portsmouth, as well as the Channel Tunnel, make the South East the natural access point to continental Europe.

The presence of Gatwick airport, the UK’s second busiest airport, and Heathrow immediately adjacent to the regional boundary, also place it at the hub of the UK’s international travel links.

The South East contains 22% of the England motorway network and 14% of the England ‘A’ road network. Congestion, however, is a growing problem. 

Membership of ACT Travelwise South East includes:

• 18 transport consultancies
• 9 private organisations/employers
• 1 major airport 
• 26 local authorities
• 5 universities
• 2 NHS Trusts
• 2 Government Agencies
• 1 Housing Association 

Regional Meetings 2012

Our meetings start at 11am and finish with lunch at 1pm. During lunch we usually have 2 x 10 minute presentations on a topical issue (N.B. attendees to bring their own lunch).  

• 11th Jan - Bracknell Forest Council offices
• 9th May - Gatwick Airport
• 5th Sept - Surrey County Council offices, Kingston

Minutes of previous meetings can be found in the Resouces/Documents section of this website.

News 

23rd Jan 2012 - Minutes of the meeting held at Bracknell Forest Council's offices on 11th Jan and presentation slides uploaded to the Resouces/Documents section.

Contact Details 

Chair - Stefan Dimic stefandimic@btinternet.com

Secretary - Andy Mouland andy.mouland@westsussex.gov.uk (tel: 01243-753667)