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Coventry in top ten places to live and work in UK

According to a table produced in The 2015 Good Growth for Cities Index, Coventry is in the top ten paces to live and work in the UK.

The research was carried out by Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) and think-tank Demos, with the criteria for deciding the best places to live and work including housing affordability, employment rates, income and skills, commuting times and environment. Top spot was taken by Reading & Bracknell, with the likes of Oxford, Edinburgh and Belfast also making the top ten.

Moving beyond a simple measure of GDP, the 10 factors comprising the index include jobs, health, income and skills, work-life balance, house-affordability, travel-to-work times, income equality and pollution. The 2015 report says the scores for the majority of cities have improved compared to 2014 as the effects of economic recovery are felt across the UK. However, with the exception of Newcastle and Durham and Bradford, the improvement remains relatively modest.

The 2015 index shows the highest-performing cities unchanged from 2014; these include Reading & Bracknell, Oxford, Edinburgh, Cambridge and Aberdeen with only the ordering altered. These high-income, high-skilled and investment-friendly cities have moved slightly ahead of other cities in the index, suggesting that they have benefited more from recovery than other UK cities.

However, there was bad news for our neighbours in Birmingham after the ‘second city’ was named as the seventh worst place to live and work.

Best

  1. Reading & Bracknell
  2. Oxford
  3. Edinburgh
  4. Cambridge
  5. Aberdeen
  6. Southampton
  7. Bristol
  8. Belfast
  9. Leicester
  10. Coventry

Worst

  1. Wakefield & Castleford
  2. Middlesbrough & Stockton
  3. London (Boroughs Only)
  4. Sunderland
  5. Liverpool
  6. Bradford
  7. Birmingham
  8. London
  9. Swansea Bay
  10. Maidstone & North Kent

About Coventry

Largely rebuilt after the 1940 wartime bombing of the Blitz, Coventry was the birthplace of the British motor industry and is also known for the legend of Lady Godiva and Peeping Tom. Run by the Council, the city has two universities, while places of interest include Coventry Cathedral, Ricoh Arena, Belgrade Theatre, Herbert Art Gallery and Transport Museum.

Further reading

Top ten best UK cities to live and work are revealed, but is yours among them?

Coventry named in top ten places to live and work in UK

Good growth for cities 2015: Our report on economic wellbeing in UK urban areas

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