Business events in Basingstoke

A town that grew fast

Basingstoke is the main town of Basingstoke and Deane, a borough that grew by 10.4% between the last two censuses, from about 167,800 people to 185,200, according to the Office for National Statistics. Of Hampshire's thirteen council areas, only Test Valley grew faster over that decade. Even so, the ONS ranks the borough the 15th least densely populated of the South East's 64. The borough is still a mix: the council says 71.8% of its people live in urban areas and 28.2% in the villages and countryside round about.

Who works here

The borough council's Future Economy Framework 2025 to 2030 gives the borough 7,315 businesses and 85,000 jobs. It names Sony, Vitacress, Fujitsu, Eli Lilly and Company, the AA and Lavazza among the larger firms, and lists the sectors it is backing: advanced manufacturing and engineering, construction, pharma and med-tech, financial and business services, and digital tech. Much of the office space is on Basing View, beside the railway, where the council also points to a 5G Living Lab for firms to try out new products.

The same document is frank about the gaps. Businesses told the council there is not enough affordable commercial space, and that business support services are hard to find a way through; the framework sets out to simplify them.

Getting in

Basingstoke station sits between the town centre and Basing View, so most central rooms are within a short walk of a train. South Western Railway runs the station, which has 1,227 parking spaces and some step-free access to every platform. The council puts central London about 45 minutes away by rail, and the M3 runs along the south of the town for anyone driving from Winchester, Southampton or London.

Several of the rooms used for events here are hotels in or near the centre, such as the Red Lion Hotel, and business centres like Incuhive Basingstoke.

Around the town

Basingstoke is the largest place in what Hampshire Events calls North Hampshire. Hook is a few miles east along the M3, and Tadley sits north towards the Berkshire border.