Bath has again been named as one of the UK’s top places to live, this time in a report ranking locations for their green credentials, quality of life and health.
The annual Vitality Index, compiled by property agency Lambert Smith Hampton, places Bath in third place in a table of the UK’s top 10 best performing locations when assessed against a range of factors including the local economy, health outcomes and the environment.
It follows two separate reports published last year which named the city as the most progressive and the second-best location country to work from home.
Bath came third in the overall Vitality Index table behind Woking in Surrey and Windsor & Maidenhead in Berkshire. Also in the top 10 were Cheltenham, at four, and Exeter, in fifth place.
In the report’s three subsidiary tables, Bath topped the one dedicated to health and the environment, boosted by its green credentials and scoring highly for levels of life satisfaction and low cardiovascular mortality rates and received praise for the amount residents recycle and low energy consumption and CO2 emissions per capita.
It came third in the ‘Living’ table, which encompasses an analysis of education, lifestyle and consumption and incorporates house price growth, GCSE results, NVQ4 and above attainment, households in specific consumer classification, MOSAIC categories, comparison goods retail spend (measured prior to the 2020 lockdowns) and retail vacancy rate.
However, it failed to get in the top 10 for economic and business vitality, which measures issues ranging from wage and GVA growth to commercial property investment volumes.
The annual Vitality Index, now in its eighth year, assesses the UK’s 100 largest towns and cities outside London using 18 datasets to identify which locations are the best to live and do business in, and have the strongest growth prospects.
This year alongside analysis of key economic indicators it has taken into account aspects around health, mental wellbeing and the environment.
Bath & North East Somerset Council leader Dine Romero, pictured, said: “I’m proud that Bath has been recognised as one of the best places in the UK to live and do businesses in.
“As a council environmental and social issues are top of our agenda and we’ve shown commitment and leadership in tackling the threats to our planet by declaring both a Climate and Ecological Emergency, ensuring they are at the heart of our local decision-making process.
“Our communities have proved time and again that they are socially aware and forward thinking from recycling huge amounts during lockdown to embracing the need to transform the way we travel to cut carbon emissions.
“There’s also no doubt the city is a great place to do business, we have a wealth of talent and expertise within the local workforce and we are fortunate to have many dynamic, successful, world class companies based here. We’re also poised for growth with investment in our Enterprise zones both in Bath and in the Somer Valley, work continuing on our flagship development at Bath Quays and our successful ‘Invest in Bath’ team attracting inward investment.”
Cabinet member for housing, planning and economic development Cllr Tim Ball added: “Bath has always been a desirable city in which to live and work, and with world-class companies and top universities, it has an enviable reputation of attracting talented workers.
“The changes to ‘normal’ life brought about by the pandemic have prompted many to reappraise their priorities and take a broader view of location quality.
Bath ticks so many boxes it’s no wonder it’s performed so well in the Vitality Index.”
Last October Bath was named as the UK’s ‘most progressive’ city for its residents’ forward-looking approach in areas ranging from recycling to voting. The survey by Banknote, the US financial services group that also operates in the UK, also highlighted Bathonians taste for vegan and vegetarian food and ownership of environmentally friendly cars.
And a survey by energy comparison site U Switch ranked Bath as the second best UK city for working from home based on factors ranging from its green spaces to its download speeds.
