NW locations fare well in latest growth index, but wider region still trails South
Preston, Liverpool and Warrington and Wigan are seeing the strongest growth in the North West, set against public priorities, according to new data from the Demos-PwC Good Growth for Cities Index.
The index, which was established in 2012, looks beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and instead focuses on measures of economic wellbeing, such as jobs, income, health, skills, work-life balance, housing, transport and the environment.
According to the latest report, when measured against priorities chosen by the public, such as jobs, income, health, skills, housing and transport, cities in the North West perform around the national average.
The highest performing city is Preston, which comes 13th in the index. The lowest performing city is Manchester, ranking 47th out of 51 cities, due to poor performance in health, jobs and owner-occupation levels.
Liverpool was placed 24th in the index, and Warrington and Wigan were placed 27th.
Despite performing well on some key measures, such as work-life balance and income distribution, the North West performs less well when it comes to health, income and high streets.
The report underlines how the North-South divide continues to present a barrier to growth.
Oxford, Bournemouth, Swindon, Reading and Milton Keynes make up the top five in the overall index, while cities in the North and Midlands, such as Sunderland, Bradford and Manchester, largely account for those that sit at the bottom.
Market senior partner for Manchester, Adam Waller, said: “While it’s hard to ignore the difference between the North and South in terms of performance for things such as income, health and retail performance, it’s extremely positive to see where the North West ranks on key measures such as income distribution and work-life balance.
“The public’s priorities have changed following the pandemic, with safety coming out as the greatest importance across the UK. However, income distribution and work-life balance are both in the top five in the kind of growth people want in this new world, which is great news for our region.”
He added: “With the North West one of the lowest performing regions in terms of post-COVID economic recovery, there is a lot of work to be done to build sustainable growth across the country. Central government, businesses and local leaders must come together to think innovatively about how the UK adapts and moves forward from the pandemic, without leaving people, or places behind.”
