Preston Marina with city skyline behind Pic: Tony Worrall
Preston is the best place to live and work in the North West, according to a new study.
Placed 19th in the UK the city has ranked above Manchester, Liverpool and others to take the North Western top spot – and this is being attributed to cheap housing and good transport links.
Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PWC) and thinktank Demos scored Preston highly for jobs and business start-ups located in the city.
Jonathan House, a partner at PwC, said: “When it comes to jobs and the commitments of business, the northern powerhouse is performing on cue.
“The northern powerhouse network is reporting over 180,000 new jobs in the last 12 months alone and a raft of new business recruits supporting the network and its objectives.”
Read more: These are Preston’s hidden gems
Leader of Preston City Council councillor Peter Rankin has spoken to The Guardian about the report, and accused Manchester of ‘overselling themselves’. He said Preston had previously ‘under-marketed’ itself.
Preston’s ranking was made up of positive reports on new businesses, jobs, owner occupation and house price compared to earnings ratio.
It struggles on skills and income categories. The ranking is measured between 2013-2015.
Read more: 34 things everyone who grew up in Preston knows to be true
The top five cities were Oxford, Reading, Edinburgh, Southampton and Bristol. Bottom of the pile are Doncaster, Wakefield, Swansea, Sunderland and Middlesbrough.
What do you think about the report? How long have you lived in Preston for? Let us know in the comments below