City ranked among best in country

Bath has been named as one of the top places in the country in which to live and do business, according to a new study.

The annual Vitality Index, by property company Lambert Smith Hampton, highlights Bath as the third best location out of a 100 assessed for a huge range of factors including the local economy, health outcomes and environment.

It follows two separate reports published last year which named Bath as the most progressive city in the UK and the second-best location in the country to work from home.

Cllr Dine Romero, leader of Bath and North East Somerset Council, 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.”

Bath performed strongly across a range of indicators in the Vitality Index, which assesses the UK’S 100 largest towns and cities outside London.

The city topped the poll when it came to health and the environment, boosted by its green credentials. It scored 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.

Cllr Tim Ball, cabinet member for housing, planning and economic development, said: “Bath ticks so many boxes it’s no wonder it’s performed so well in the Vitality Index.”