Christchurch is a significant business centre with a relatively high proportion of employment in advanced engineering including aviation and aerospace.
About 18,000 employees work in the town which also features around 2,000 firms, excluding the self-employed. The town itself is characterised by its pleasant riverside and harbour setting and the famous Priory Church, and is visited by thousands of tourists every year. By the 16th century, Bridport was supplying rope to the Royal Navy and most of the commercial fleet.
Communications
With its close proximity to Bournemouth
and Poole; the A35 and A338 linking to the M27 and Southampton, a railway station on the main line to London, and as the home of Bournemouth Airport, Christchurch has good transport and communication links.
Commercial land
Christchurch has a number of business parks and industrial estates on the eastern side of the town, while Bournemouth Airport offers office, industrial and warehousing space. Aviation Park at the airport has 60ha of land available for employment purposes – currently the largest employment site in Dorset.