It’s not as ‘grim up North’, but a new report claims there is still some catching up to be done with cities in the South.
The think-tank, Centre for Cities, released new research this week on the economic growth of cities across the UK – Cities outlook 2008. The report shows that of the top 10 improving cities, based on employment growth over 10 years, half are northern, including Derby, Doncaster and Sunderland.
But four of the five northern cities are still considerably below the national average for employment. The top three improvers are Milton Keynes, Portsmouth and Brighton.
Centre for Cities director, Dermot Finch, said: ‘These figures show that it’s less “grim up North”. Cities such as Warrington and Doncaster are on the up, but need to sustain this momentum over many years, if they are going to catch up with the likes of York and Milton Keynes.’
Mr Finch also highlighted the problem of inequalities within big cities such as London, Birmingham and Manchester.
He said: ‘They need to address the deep-rooted wealth inequalities on their own patch.’
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