Leicester has been named as one of the best cities in which to live and work for the third year in a row.
The 2019 Good Growth for Cities Index – which was released this week – ranks the home of De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) in the top 10 best places for quality of life, ahead of London and neighbouring Nottingham and Derby.
Helen Donnellan, Director of Business Engagement at DMU said: “Leicester has so much to offer as a place to live, work and do business, so we’re delighted that it has continued to be recognised as a top 10 city for economic wellbeing.
“DMU is committed to supporting Leicester’s economy to thrive by supporting new businesses and nurturing an entrepreneurial spirit in our students.”
The Index was developed by PwC and the think tank Demos. Leicester was ranked not just against economic factors, but against measures which the public vote as most important such as health, work-life balance, the environment and jobs.
One of its top scores was in the number of new businesses which are started in the city – echoing other surveys which name Leicester as one of the most entrepreneurial places in the UK.
Leicester’s rating as one of the best places to be is no surprise to De Montfort Student Union. We asked some of our 2019 executive team what their favourite things are about the city:
Diya Rattanpaul, equality and diversity executive, said: “I love how multicultural it is. Everyone is so welcoming and friendly in Leicester – and I really love Narborough Road! It’s also got the best student union in the world!”
Kate Askew, union development, praised the city’s cultural events. She said: “There’s so much free art to see, and live music, I like going to all. the different shows and festivals.”
Academic exec Laura Flowers said her favourite thing was the countryside on our doorstep. She said: “Leicester is a really good mix of city and county. It’s got the countryside places like Bradgate Park and Aylestone Meadows but it’s got everything you want from the city as well like the shops.”
“There’s always something going on in Leicester,” said Katie Hobbs, welfare executive. “The city centre isn’t intimidating, it’s friendly and there’s always something to get involved in.”
Leicester is known for its vibrant culture and many landmarks, which attract people from all corners of the world, in addition to its economic development. The city is:
• The best place in the country for tech start-ups, according to the Tech Nation 2018 report
• The second best place in the UK to start a business, as ranked in the Start-Up Britain report
• Home to Britain's most multi-cultural high street, Narborough Road, just a stone's throw from the DMU campus
• Recognised for its global cuisine and home of the Leicester Curry Awards
• One of the oldest cities in England, with a history dating back 2,000 years
• A successful sporting city, home to 2015-2016 Premier League champions Leicester City Football Club, and Leicester Tigers, 10 times English rugby union champions. Both clubs have
partnerships with DMU, leading to great opportunities for students
• Host to some of the largest multi-cultural events in the East Midlands, such as the annual Caribbean festival, the largest of its kind outside London, and the biggest Diwali celebrations outside of India
• The third most affordable city for students in the UK, according to the NatWest Student Living Index 2019
• The final resting place of King Richard III.
Earlier this year, DMU released research which showed the value of the university to Leicester’s economy and people. It found DMU was worth £500m to the UK economy and that one in every 30 jobs in Leicester could be traced back to the university. It had the eighth highest number of graduate start-ups.
Office senior partner for PwC in the East Midlands, Paul Norbury, said: “Leicester continues to be one of the UK’s top performing cities. This is testament to the region continuing to position itself as a great place to do business."
Posted on Wednesday 13 November 2019