Two authorities in Essex have been named among the healthiest, happiest, most inclusive and dynamic areas in the country, according to a new report from leading business and financial adviser, Grant Thornton UK LLP.
Brentwood and Uttlesford both scored highly in multiple areas of the Sustainable Growth Index, which tracks the success of the 324 local authority areas in England. As well as looking at traditional economic measures, the report also takes into account social indicators such as dynamism, inclusion, health, resilience and community trust.
Both locations are in the top 20% of all local authorities on the overall Sustainable Growth Index; Brentwood has climbed 43 places to 41, while Uttlesford is ranked 55, demonstrating a good balance between social and economic performance. Colchester and Chelmsford were also ranked as being above average, at 78 and 81 respectively. The lowest scoring areas in the county were Thurrock (272), Castle Point (276) and Tendring (309).
Uttlesford was also named as the fourth best area in England for ‘health, wellbeing & happiness’, moving up six places on last year’s Index. Brentwood was ranked at 28, climbing a staggering 144 places on the previous Index. Other notable performances in this basket include Rochford in 20th position – the town entered the top 20 for the first time this year, having moved up from 257 in the 2018 Index.
Tim Taylor, Practice Leader at Grant Thornton UK LLP’s Chelmsford office, said: “This year’s Sustainable Growth Index has certainly been a mixed bag for regions in Essex. While there have been some great performances and incredible improvements in certain areas, other local authority areas have fared less well. Taking the health and wellbeing category as an example – half of the county’s local authorities improved their score, while areas such as Maldon, Epping Forest and Chelmsford fell drastically.
“The overall Sustainable Growth Index scores were very mixed too, with regions in both the top and bottom 20% in the country. However, it’s unsurprising for a county which is as large and diverse as Essex is.”
Nationally, the Sustainable Growth Index highlighted a struggle for large towns and cities to translate positive scores in the areas of ‘dynamism & opportunity’ (which measures an area’s entrepreneurial and innovative spirit) and ‘prosperity’ (a measure which evaluates local wealth and job opportunities) into inclusive and healthy societies, but Brentwood and Uttlesford appear to have bucked this trend.
Both areas were placed at 44 and 51 respectively for ‘dynamism & opportunity’, with Chelmsford hot on their heels at 55. Brentwood also ranked just outside of the top 20% for ‘prosperity’ at 67 having climbed 40 places on last year’s results, and also enjoyed a top 20% ranking for ‘inclusion & equality’ at 38. Meanwhile, although Uttlesford received a below average score for ‘prosperity’ at 190, the authority scored highly for ‘dynamism & opportunity’ (51) and ‘inclusion & equality’ (29).
Areas across the south of England dominated the Index – 29 of the 67 local authorities in the South East are in the top 20% on the overall sustainable growth index. Cambridge has claimed the top spot overall for the sixth year running, followed by Westminster and Camden.
Elsewhere across Essex, Maldon (36), Rochford (43), Epping Forest (45) and Braintree (64) were in the top 20% of local authorities for ‘inclusion & equality’. Chelmsford and Colchester recorded their strongest performances in the ‘resilience & sustainability’ basket at 16 and 34 respectively, which takes into account the impact the local economy has on the environment.
Harlow was the county’s leader in the ‘community trust & belonging’ category, clearly demonstrating a creative and lively culture in which members of the community feel safe and engaged with local life.
Tim Taylor added: “Grant Thornton created the Sustainable Growth Index as a new way of measuring the success of an area which takes into account more than just economic performance. There is an appetite from leaders throughout the UK across the public, private and third sectors to have this conversation; they want to understand the challenges facing their local area and our aim is for these findings to kick-start conversations, and help inform and shape future investment decisions.”
To view the results of Grant Thornton’s Sustainable Growth Index in more detail, visit: https://www.grantthornton.co.uk/insights/sustainable-growth-index-how-does-your-place-score/.