Cambridge is the best area in the country for sustainable growth and dynamism, according to a new report from a business and financial adviser.
It is the sixth year running that the city has topped the Sustainable Growth Index, by Grant Thornton 海角视频 LLP, 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. The city also received the highest rating in the ‘dynamism & opportunity’ category, which measures an area’s entrepreneurial and innovative spirit.
Tim Taylor, practice leader at the Cambridge Grant Thornton office, said: “Cambridge continues to 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.”
Cambridge was closely followed by South Cambridgeshire which was in seventh place on the overall index ranking and sixth for ‘dynamism’.
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Elsewhere in the county, Huntingdonshire came 96th, East Cambridgeshire was 155th, and Fenland at 304th.
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 per cent 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.
Mr 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 海角视频 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.”
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Nationally, areas across the south dominated the report – 31 local authorities in the South East are in the top 20 per cent of the Sustainable Growth Index.
Behind Cambridge, the other top areas overall included Westminster, Camden, Oxford and Wokingham.