Manchester People -Autumn 2009 Issue 40

Prestigious survey names Manchester as England's leading city

Manchester is a better place to live than London, Milan and Dublin, according to an independent study of living standards.

The Economic Intelligence Unit's annual 'liveability' survey ranked Manchester 46th out of 140 world cities - the highest ranking English city and five places ahead of London.

The detailed analysis used hundreds of indicators around factors such as healthcare, culture, the environment, education, stability and transport to rate living conditions. Even the weather was taken into account.

Cities with scores of 80 or more were deemed to have few challenges to living standards - Manchester scored 90 to London's 89.2.

The Financial Times' report of the survey cited everything from Manchester International Festival and the recently opened £500million new children's hospital, to proposals to plant orchards in city parks as reasons for the city's success.

Manchester City Council Leader Sir Richard Leese said: "We're delighted that independent research confirms what we already know - that Manchester is a great place to live and a premier league world city. But while we can take some satisfaction from these findings, we know that like all major urban centres we also face some deep-rooted challenges.

"We cannot afford to stand still. From huge investment in our schools through the Academies and Building Schools for the Future programmes to the imminent expansion of the Metrolink network and our efforts to secure a high-speed rail link, we are constantly striving for improvements."

Vancouver in Canada was named as the best place to live in the Economic Intelligence Unit study.

Meanwhile, Manchester's third State of the City Report - an annual headline document measuring the city's current performance - also shows that good progress is being made on most fronts.

Manchester has enjoyed a decade of unprecedented investment and its population continues to grow - the most recent estimate puts the figure at 458,100. Tourists are also flocking to the city. With more than 6.5million overnight visits last year, this was England's second most visited city after the capital.