Nottingham overtakes Derby as fastest-growing East Mids city

Nottingham has overtaken Derby to become fastest growing city economy in the East Midlands, according to a new report.

The UK Powerhouse report, which is produced with the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr), provides a quarterly estimate of GVA and job creation within 45 UK cities 12 months ahead of the Government’s official figures.

The report, which is published this month, found that Nottingham’s economy grew by 0.7% in the 12 months to Q2 2017. Derby’s economy grew by 0.6%, while Leicester posted annual growth of 0.5%.

It found the annual rate of job creation in Nottingham was 1.4% and therefore higher than Leicester at 1.2% and Derby which boosted employment by 1.1%.

In a period where locations in the South East and the East of England dominated, the report revealed that no cities in the Midlands made the top 10 of fastest growing locations in the UK.

Looking ahead to 2027, the report currently says Derby will have marginally the fastest growing city economy across the East Midlands over the next decade with GVA increasing by 14.9%. Nottingham is economy is expected to grow by 14.8% and Leicester’s economy predicted to be 12.9% larger by Q2 2027.

This latest edition of UK Powerhouse examines the impact that technology has on city economies across the UK and revealed that Nottingham was leading the pack.

According to the latest figures, the sector had grown by 18% in Nottingham compared to Leicester at 1% and Derby has seen the contribution that technology makes to the local economy fall by 9%. The average in the UK was 14%.

It is further predicted that the UK-wide number of jobs in the technology sector will increase by 24% in next 10 years. However, the report raises concerns that the true potential might not be realised.

To ensure all cities in the East Midlands benefit from the available opportunities in the tech sector, the report recommends a holistic approach and makes a number of recommendations. These include;

– Tackling the shortage of highly skilled employees by encouraging more women to enter the industry
– Investing and opening more ‘code academies’ to increase the number of people with the necessary skills in programming languages
– Establishing a plan that allows the existing data flows between the UK and the rest of Europe to continue before the UK officially leaves the EU
– Expanding the Start Up Loans scheme for new business ideas by providing financing deals which offer higher amounts on lower interest rates
– Changing the current UK entrepreneur tax relief scheme as it encourages small firms to sell out early and inhibits the number of businesses reaching unicorn size
– Funding knowledge sharing and skill building platforms, including events for new businesses to network and discuss ideas with successful technology entrepreneurs