Latest Results From UK Powerhouse Revealed

Nottingham came out ahead of Derby and Leicester in a new study which analyses the environmental sustainability of UK cities.

According to UK Powerhouse, a report by Irwin Mitchell and the Centre for Economic & Business Research (Cebr), Nottingham outperformed Derby and Leicester in terms of CO2 per person and share of environmentally friendly commuters.

Nottingham was in 11th place for CO2 per person recording a rate of 3.6 kt CO2 per person. Leicester was 13th and Derby was in 31st place. 

UK Powerhouse says however that there are no locations in the Midlands in the top 10 for the lowest CO2 per person. 

Nottingham was 14th for share of population using low emission transport** and 17th for share of population using zero emission transport***. Derby York appears 30th for the share of low emission transport at 5%, however it was third for its share of population using zero emission transport.  

Out of the three locations, Nottingham had a higher share of households with renewable electricity installations; however Leicester came out on top for waste recycling. 

The UK Powerhouse report looked at how cities were expected to perform in Q1 2021 – the quarter when the transition period in the UK’s current EU Withdrawal agreement is set to have ended.

Nottingham appeared in 24th place with GVA* expected to grow at 1.5% year on year. Leicester was in 35th place whilst Derby was at the bottom of the league table with 0.9% year on year growth in output.

The study said that Derby’s economy relies heavily on the automotive sector for employment and this will be one pf the sectors set to be most affected by the trade disruption which could come as a result of Brexit.

Expert Opinion

“In June, the UK has announced its ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050, the first major economy to do so. The ever-more urgent topic of climate change and sustainability has reached the highest level of government and it’s important that business recognise not only the important role they have to play, but also the opportunities that exist.” Victoria Brackett - Group Chief Commercial Officer

Methodology Note

All forecasts in this report utilise Cebr’s central scenario. Cebr’s central forecasts are based on the assumption that an amended version of the Brexit withdrawal agreement will form the basis of the future UK – EU relationship. We further assume that a transitional arrangement will be put in place that allows a continuation of the current relationship without any major disruptions until at least 2021. On the immigration policy, we rely on the lower immigration population estimates assuming that a visa system will be implemented for EU nationals, but that the requirements (e.g. the minimum salary, the NHS surcharge payment, the application fees, etc.) would be more relaxed than they currently are for non-EU nationals requiring a visa.

*Gross value added
**Low emission transport include travels by bus/coach, national rail and underground. 
***Zero emission transport includes travel by walking or cycling.