Plymouth named among UK’s top cities in latest national ranking

Plymouth has been named one of the best-performing cities in the UK for both economic growth and quality of life.

The city placed sixth out of 50 in the latest Good Growth for Cities report, produced by Demos and PwC. 

The annual index looks at 12 measures including jobs, health, income, housing, transport, skills, work-life balance, equality and the number of new businesses.

Plymouth City Council leader Tudor Evans said: “It’s heartening that once again Plymouth ranks amongst the top cities in the UK for economic performance. 

We are an ambitious city and have built strong partnerships that enable us to work together to drive sustainable growth, attract strategic investment and most importantly, deliver tangible benefits for Plymouth residents.”

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He added that recent announcements, such as the Government’s defence investment in Devonport and Plymouth’s designation as a National Defence Growth Area, would help strengthen the city’s position.

“There’s a huge amount to do but we are committed to grasping this once-in-a-generation opportunity,” he said.

“The priority will be to ensure all Plymouth residents have the opportunity to benefit from this investment and regeneration, whether through gaining the skills needed for a growing job market, or benefiting from better transport, housing and a regenerated city centre.”

Plymouth residents were slightly more sceptical about the ranking and commented on social media: “Plymouth can’t get any bigger as the roads are overwhelmed due to poor planning, we haven’t got the infrastructure and where are the jobs actually coming from?”