Cambridge has been ranked as the best area in the country for sustainable growth and dynamism by a new report from leading business and financial adviser, Grant Thornton UK LLP.
It is the sixth year running that the city has topped 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.
Cambridge is number one on the overall Index ranking, a position it has held since 2013. The city also received the highest rating in the ‘dynamism & opportunity’ category, which measures an area’s entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. It was closely followed by South Cambridgeshire which was in seventh place on the overall Index ranking and sixth for ‘dynamism’.
Elsewhere in the county, Huntingdonshire came 96th on the overall Index ranking, East Cambridgeshire was placed at 155 and Fenland at 304. All three areas recorded falls compared to the 2018 Index, with Fenland seeing the biggest drop of 36 places.
Cambridge was in the top 20% of all local authorities for five out of the six indicators measured. The city climbed three places on the ‘prosperity’ ranking (an evaluation of local wealth and job opportunities) compared to the 2018 Index, to 42. It also saw significant growth in the ‘health, happiness & wellbeing’ indicator and is in the top five most improved areas in the country in this category at 42, marking a jump of 190 places. South Cambridgeshire climbed 105 places from 156 to 51 in this basket.
Cambridge also performed highly in the ‘community trust & belonging’ indicator; once again the city was placed in the top 10 nationally, at number six. However, Cambridge fell 24 places in the ‘resilience and sustainability’ category to 43, which considers the impact the local economy has on the environment.
Commenting on the findings, Tim Taylor, Practice Leader at Grant Thornton’s office in Cambridge, said: “Cambridge continues to the lead the way for innovation and entrepreneurship and is a much-loved place to live and work with a highly engaged local community. The city has also made great strides to improve the health and happiness of its residents, which is very encouraging to see.
“However, the trends we are seeing nationally suggest that authorities in big towns and cities are struggling to translate positive scores in the areas of ‘prosperity’ and ‘dynamism’ into inclusive societies where every member of the population feels the benefits of economic success. This year’s report has highlighted this as a key area of improvement for Cambridge and that the city is currently lagging behind its local authority neighbours.”
South Cambridgeshire (13), East Cambridgeshire (46) and Huntingdon (71) are all ahead of Cambridge in the ‘inclusion & equality’ indicator, which is placed at 88.
Fenland is the area in the county which has struggled the most in the past 12 months, recording falls in all six indicators. The area ranks in the bottom 20% in the country overall and also for dynamism, health and community trust.
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.”
Areas across the south of England dominated the report – 31 of the 67 local authorities in the South East are in the top 20% of the Sustainable Growth Index. Behind Cambridge, the other top areas overall included Westminster, Camden, Oxford and Wokingham.
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/.