TheM4 corridor is an area in the United Kingdom adjacent to theM4 motorway, which runs fromLondon toSouth Wales.[1] It is a major hi-tech hub.[2][3] Important cities and towns linked by the M4 include (from east to west) London,Slough,Bracknell,Maidenhead,Reading,Newbury,Swindon,Bath,Bristol,Newport,Cardiff,Port Talbot andSwansea. The area is also served by theGreat Western Main Line, theSouth Wales Main Line, andLondon Heathrow Airport.[4] Technology companies with major operations in the area includeAdobe,Amazon,Citrix Systems,Dell,Huawei,Lexmark,LG,Microsoft,Novell,Nvidia,O2,Oracle,Panasonic,SAP, andSymantec.
The east end of the English M4 corridor is home to a large number of technology companies, particularly inBerkshire,Swindon and theThames Valley.[5] For this reason this part of the M4 corridor is sometimes described as England's "Silicon Valley".[1]Slough,Windsor,Maidenhead,Reading,Bracknell andNewbury are the main towns in the Berkshire stretch of the M4.
Reading is home to many information technology and financial services businesses, includingCisco,Microsoft,[6]ING Direct,[7]Oracle,[8]Prudential,[9]Yell Group[10] andEricsson.[11]Vodafone has a major corporate campus in Newbury,[12]O2 plc is in Slough.[13] Maidenhead is the home ofHutchison 3G UK's headquarters[14] andTesla Motors' UK head office.[15]
Investment has gradually spread westwards since the 1980s.[16] In the west, the interchange of the M4 andM5 motorwaysnorth of Bristol had seen considerable growth of industries by the mid 1990s.[17]
The major Welsh towns and cities along the M4 corridor areBridgend,Cardiff,Llanelli,Neath,Newport,Port Talbot andSwansea. South Wales is an industrial heartland of the UK.[18]
The 1980s and 1990s saw the development of theSwansea Enterprise Park.[19] TheCeltic Manor Resort, adjacent to the M4 inNewport, has received significant investment[20] and hosted the 2010Ryder Cup.[21] Newport has seen significant growth in the electronics industry since the late 1980s.[22][23] The 1990s saw significant investment inCardiff, such as in Cardiff Gate and theCardiff Bay area.[24] One site of note on the M4 corridor isPort Talbot Steelworks – the largest steel producer in the UK and one of the biggest in Europe.[25]
The opening of theSecond Severn Crossing in 1996 resulted in the previous M4 andbridge, servingChepstow, being renumbered theM48, although the area is still generally considered as falling within the M4 corridor.[26][27]
Since the start of the 21st century there has been evidence of more investment west of Cardiff, such as:
| Official bodies and personnel |
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industry sectors | |||||||
| Non- governmental bodies |
| ||||||
| People | |||||||
| Places | |||||||
| Other | |||||||
