Tower Hamlets has been ranked as the best London borough for remote workers, according to a study analysing several factors influencing remote workability.
Free digital tool provider TinyWow analysed several factors including average internet download speeds, house prices, household energy and gas consumption, distance to green space and the proportion of houses with garden access. A total of 357 local authorities across England, Scotland and Wales were included in the study.
Each local authority was given a total score out of 100, with internet accessibility, home prices and energy consumption weighted as the most important factors within each area’s overall score for remote working.
Tower Hamlets was found to be the best London borough for remote working with an overall score of 71.12 out of 100 and ranked as the fifth best area for remote work in England. The East End borough was found to have London’s fastest internet, averaging 163.8 Mbps download speeds, and a modest 80% of homes were found to have access to ultrafast broadband speeds of 100 Mbps or more.
The borough was also found to offer the shortest distance to public green space, with resident’s homes being just 0.2 kilometres from the nearest park, public garden or playing field on average. Furthermore, Tower Hamlets boasts 12.7 green spaces within a 1km radius of homes on average, higher than any other borough. Homes in the area were also found to have the lowest domestic gas consumption, at 9,352 KWh per year on average.
Islington ranked as London’s second-best area for remote work. Homes in this borough were found to offer the second lowest annual gas and electricity consumption on average, at 10,470 KWh and 2,821 KWh respectively, as well as being just 0.22 kilometres to the nearest green space on average, ranking third for this factor. 88.3% of homes in Islington were also found to have ultrafast broadband speeds, and it offers an average download speed of 127.9 Mbps.
Southwark ranked as the third best London borough for remote work with a score of 68.18 out of 100. It offers the fifth best internet speeds in London, at 149.4 Mbps download speeds and the second shortest distance to green space at 0.22 kilometres on average. The borough also offered the second highest number of green spaces, with 12 within a 1km radius of homes on average.
Barking and Dagenham ranked as the fourth best borough for remote work with a score of 65.27, while Newham ranked fifth with a score of 64.97 out of 100.
City of London ranked as the least remote work friendly borough, offering the lowest internet download speeds at 94 Mbps as well as just 50.6% of homes equipped with ultrafast broadband. It was also found to have the second highest average home sale price of £968,060, placing just behind Kensington and Chelsea for this factor.
A spokesperson for TinyWow said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated the public’s awareness of and interest in remote working over the past few years. While many have since been keen to return to the office, overall demand for remote work across the UK only seems to be increasing.
“In fact, recent Google Trends data shows that search interest for ‘remote work jobs’ reached its highest point in five years, during the first week of January 2023, highlighting that many are eager to engage with this new way of working.
“Internet access, affordability of housing and access to public and private green space are all important factors to consider when accessing the longevity of working from home. For those seeking a role in an industry that facilitates remote work, it’s worth evaluating which aspects of work are the most important to you, and whether your home setting can provide them.”
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