• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Wednesday May 24 2023
• Author Name: Peter Davison

Swindon and Bristol among top five performing cities in PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index

Swindon and Bristol are among the top five perming cities in PwC’s Good Growth for Cities Index – scoring second and fourth respectively.

The index, now in its 11th year, covers a list of broad measures of economic factors the public identifies as most important to their work and finances, and which are therefore essential for judging economic success.

The 12 economic wellbeing indicators include jobs, health, income, safety and skills, as well as work-life balance, housing, travel-to-work times, income equality, high street shops, environment and business start-ups.

Swindon recorded a positive score for all indicators excluding work-life balance and skills – both average – and income distribution, which was below average.

Bristol was ranked above average or average in most indicators, but its perennial issues of housing and transport – both below average – pulled its overall score down slightly.

Oxford was ranked the top-performing city, with a strong performance on economic measures such as income, employment rates and life expectancy, although it improved at a slower rate than lower-performing cities, with the gap narrowing between worst and best.

Interestingly, Oxford had more below-average indicators than its regional rivals, scoring negatively for housing, transport, and income distribution. But high scores in jobs, income, and skills provided footholds to the top spot.

But the strong performance against the Good Growth for Cities measures is tempered by expectations for economic growth in 2023 and 2024.

The South West has the lowest economic growth forecast of any UK region or nation, due to the prevalence of low-growth sectors, such as agriculture; electricity, gas, steam and air; water and waste.

Tom Ayerst, PwC’s market senior partner for the South West, said: “I’m very pleased to see the strength of the South West’s performance in this year’s Index; we have some of the UK’s safest and healthiest cities, with good availability of skills and robust transport infrastructure.

“The Good Growth for Cities Index also points to where action would be most effectively targeted.

“As a whole, cities in the South West performed less positively on the affordability of housing, support for new businesses and income competitiveness – a complex combination of issues that will require long-term thinking to solve.

“New approaches to devolution are required to enable our cities’ leaders to make the most appropriate interventions for their own markets.”

Latest: Bristol, Swindon and Reading ‘leading on growth’ – Good Growth for Cities Index