Cities have largely recovered economically from the 2007/08 financial crisis but must now focus on housing affordability and health-related issues, according to PwC and Demos.
The consultancy firm and think-tank named Oxford and Reading as the country’s top-performing cities for the fourth year in a row in their annual Good Growth for Cities report, published today.
Using 10 indicators selected by the public as key measures of economic wellbeing, the report identified Bradford, Liverpool and Norwich as the most improved.
PwC partner Jonathan House said: ‘Even with the uncertainty of Brexit over the last year, local leaders have had significant success in delivering good growth in their cities and regions.’
However, the report and its authors emphasised that in many cities that very progress has led to other indicators going the wrong way – notably housing affordability, health and wellbeing, and commuting time.
The report also warned that many of the most successful cities were rapidly approaching the ceiling in what can be delivered through traditional economic indicators.
PwC chief economist John Hawksworth said: ‘This year’s index results have shown continued broad-based improvements across most UK cities but there are also signs that progress has plateaued, particularly among top performing cities in the index where unemployment rates were already very low.'
