At the end of last year, my colleague Joe and I supported a Barnsley based digital business with a business case for the expansion of their operations. So it hardly came as a surprise to us that Barnsley had recently been designated the UK’s first Tech Town[1]. As part of our project we explored the role of the tech firm in the wider Barnsley and South Yorkshire economy, and Barnsley’s ambition to be the UK’s foremost digital town was clear.
The Tech Town status means that local businesses, schools, NHS and others will receive targeted support to “unleash [the] opportunities of AI”. This means building the AI talent pool in the town, and supporting organisations to adopt and roll out AI to help residents and businesses.
Barnsley appears to have been selected because of its pre-existing digital strengths, including the Seam Digital Campus, located within the South Yorkshire Investment Zone. Beyond these, local strategic priorities likely played a part too - the desire for Barnsley to be the UK’s premier digital town was mentioned several times during the business case development, and is a consistent theme across Barnsley’s strategies and documents. For example, The Digital Barnsley strategy from 2021 states that Barnsley aims to be “a digital town… acting as a beacon for high value business investment and employment.”
The designation of Barnsley as the first Tech Town also aligned with the Government’s stated ambition to “kickstart economic growth in every part of the country”[2]. By choosing a town in the North of England they’ve sent a clear signal that the benefits from AI should be shared nationally.
Throughout the announcement Barnsley is consistently referred to as the first Tech Town. And this got me thinking – if Barnsley is this first, where could be next? After doing some digging here’s a few that I think should be in contention.
Luton
Luton has a well deserved place in this list, and not just because it is the other major historic centre of hat making in the UK, alongside Stockport (home to SQW … and your correspondent).
I think Luton deserves consideration because it has the infrastructure to really capitalise on the growth opportunities associated with digital and technologies sector. The proportion of premises in Luton that can access Gigabit speed internet connections increased from 2% in 2021 to 98% in 2025 making it the Local Authority with the fifth highest availability in Great Britain (for context, Manchester is 90%). Similarly, Luton sits very close to two high voltage (400kV) power lines and is next to the newly upgraded Sundon Transmission station. This means it is well placed to take advantage of current and next generation technologies with large energy requirements like the hyperscale data centres that underpin next generation technologies like AI.
Luton is also well positioned strategically – proximity to major infrastructure (London Luton airport) and several DSIT identified digital clusters in Milton Keynes, Stevenage, St. Albans and London, makes it an easy location to attract new digital businesses to start and scale. It also sits in the Ox-Cam Growth Corridor, the innovation corridor between Oxford and Cambridge – a key part of the government’s innovation and economic growth agenda[3].
It’s not just infrastructure though – in August 2025 the council published the ‘Luton 2040’ town plan, which includes target outcomes of supporting the growth of the digital sector, as well as reducing digital inequalities.
Considering all of these, and especially Luton’s position in a nationally significant innovation corridor, it has a strong case to be the next Tech Town.
Airdrie
Airdrie sits in Scotland’s central belt, between Edinburgh and Glasgow, both of which have their own digital clusters. Crucially it is part of the newly announced AI Growth Zone in Scotland, a £8.2bn investment to unlock AI skills and jobs[4]. Airdrie is particular has been announced as the location for a new AI data centre, which the operator – DataVita – anticipates will create over three thousand jobs. (If you’re interested in the role of AI Growth Zones in economic growth, my colleague Donald has covered that in a separate blog here).
It’s not just the data centre – Airdrie will also be home to the new ‘University Hospital Monklands’, Scotland’s first digital and net zero hospital, and with digital innovations to improve patient care a key part of the design[5]. There is even a plan that the two will be related, with excess heat generated by the data centre redirected to the hospital.
With major infrastructure plans relating to digital planned, it’s easy to see Airdrie getting the nod as a Tech Town to potentially unlock further investment and attract talent and businesses.
Wakefield
Yes – I know that Wakefield is a city, but its population is similar to that of many large towns, and I think it has a strong case to be the first modern ‘Tech City’. Although just up the road from Barnsley – and therefore potentially unlikely to be chosen given its proximity – Wakefield does have a strong claim.
Lightcast data on job advertisements – as analysed by TechUK – shows that 27% of firms in Wakefield are advertising for digital roles, a number higher than Sheffield (25%) and Oxford (20%) and comparable to Leeds (27%) and Glasgow (28%).
Wakefield also has two major tech-creative assets in Production Park and Tileyard North (an extension of Tileyard London, located in King’s Cross). Together, these locations have created a distinctive offering for Wakefield, helping it to attract and grow digital creative businesses. Alongside these, Wakefield has hosted the Node4 data centre since 2009, offering businesses in Leeds (and beyond) a secure location to house their data – such a key component to the digital sector that the Government has recently classified data centres as “essential services”[6].
Conclusion
These places – including Barnsley – have two key things in common that I think make them ideal candidates for Tech Town status. First, they are all proximate to major cities. Second, none have huge existing employment in the digital economy sectors[7] (accounting for 0.6% of employment in North Lanarkshire where Airdrie is, 1.1% in Luton and 1.7% in Wakefield, compared to the UK median of 1.5%). So, not only are they located near hubs of talent, innovation and funding – allowing businesses to relocate while maintaining their existing networks and financial ties and benefitting from flows of knowledge and supply-chain opportunities – but they also stand to benefit more than towns with a well-established digital sector.
Supporting the potential of one or all of Luton, Airdrie or Wakefield, through Tech Town (or City!) status can provide the momentum needed to accelerate their ambitions and exploit their potential - ultimately “blazing a trail for other towns to follow”, a key ambition of the Tech Town initiative.
I’d love to know your views – where do you think should be the UK’s next Tech Town? Let us know on our LinkedIn page.
[1] Barnsley becomes UK’s first government-backed Tech Town
[2] AI Growth Zones: An opportunity for local economic growth?
[3] Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor Investment Prospectus
[4] More than 3,400 jobs and targeted support for local communities to help tackle the cost of living as Lanarkshire named latest AI Growth Zone
[5] New University Hospital Monklands
[7] As defined by SIC codes, which have their own issues.