Monmouthshire top in Wales for vibrant economic activity
MONMOUTHSHIRE has the most vibrant economy of any local authority in Wales, shows new research.
It comes top of the 22 local authorities in Wales, according to research carried out by professional advisory firm Grant Thornton.
The ranking of the authorities is based on measures including prosperity, opportunity, health, sustainability and community.
The Grant Thornton Vibrant Economy Index aims to demonstrate a good balance between economic growth, social equality, sustainability and healthy, happy people.
Vibrancy is measured using key indicators for each of the six scoring baskets and each place is awarded an overall “vibrancy score”, with 100 being the UK average.
Only eight of the 22 local authorities were marked above 100.
Monmouthshire scored 104.93 in comparison to the country’s lowest scoring local authority, which was Blaenau Gwent with a score of 94.04.
The index found that other vibrant places in Wales are spread relatively evenly across the country, with the Vale of Glamorgan, Flintshire, Bridgend and Powys leading the way behind Monmouthshire.
West Wales’ highest-scoring local authority was Pembrokeshire, which scored 99.55, but the coastal county performed well in the community, trust and belonging basket, with the highest Welsh score of 110.65.
Monmouthshire has held the top spot consistently since 2013 apart from 2016, when it dipped to number two and the Vale of Glamorgan replaced it as Wales’ most vibrant economy.
The biggest improvement was seen across Bridgend, which scored highly in prosperity and resilience and sustainability to place at fourth in the 2018 Grant Thornton Vibrant Economy Index, having previously sat at 11th.
Cardiff was deemed a prosperous capital city but inclusion and equality were listed as below-average.
According to the index, Cardiff is Wales’ second most prosperous area of growth, with a prosperity score of 109.90, and also takes the top spot in the dynamism and opportunity index, with a score of 112.01
While much of Cardiff’s vibrancy is driven by economic prosperity, it has lower inclusion and equality and health, well-being and happiness scores, ranking 21st and 18th respectively out of the 22 local authorities.
Rural areas were found to be happier and have a stronger sense of community belonging.
Of Wales’ most rural local authorities, 77% scored above the national average for community, trust and belonging (Pembrokeshire first, Powys third, Monmouthshire fourth, Gwynedd fifth, Anglesey sixth, Conwy seventh, Ceredigion 12th).
Similarly, seven of Wales’ top 10 local authorities for health, wellbeing and happiness are some of the country’s most rural areas (Anglesey first, Gwynedd second, Powys third, Monmouthshire fifth, Conwy sixth, Ceredigion seventh, Denbighshire eighth).
Alistair Wardell, practice leader at Grant Thornton’s Cardiff office, said: “Our data shows that many places across Wales are already making great strides towards realising more inclusive growth.
“Five years ago, Bridgend’s overall performance looked very different and the city ranked in the bottom half of our index. We’ve seen that Bridgend has become more prosperous, more dynamic and more resilient, Local authorities ranked with their Vibrant Economy Index:
■ 1. Monmouthshire – 104.93
■ 2. Vale of Glamorgan – 104.67
■ 3. Flintshire – 103.22
■ 4. Bridgend – 102.11
■ 5. Powys – 101.43
■ 6. Conwy – 101.21
■ 7. Gwynedd – 101.09
■ 8. Swansea – 100.36
■ 9. Rhondda Cynon Taf – 99.96
■ 10. Cardiff – 99.96
■ 11. Torfaen – 99.86
■ 12. Pembrokeshire – 99.55
■ 13. Carmarthenshire – 99.55
■ 14. Isle of Anglesey – 99.38
■ 15. Ceredigion – 99.20
■ 16. Denbighshire – 99.18
■ 17. Wrexham – 99.11
■ 18. Neath Port Talbot – 98.79
■ 19. Newport – 98.41
■ 20. Caerphilly – 97.08
■ 21. Merthyr Tydfil – 96.91
■ 22. Blaenau Gwent – 94.04 and as a result now represents one of Wales’ most vibrant local economies.
“This impressive result demonstrates that good growth is inclusive growth. Looking beyond just economic prosperity and focusing on measuring the wellbeing of society as a whole can produce real change and start to positively impact local people. We hope that our Index, and the improvement seen so far, will help businesses, public sector leaders, the third sector and communities identify ways they can collaborate to create a truly vibrant economy that works for everyone.”