Hidden Potential: Fulfilling the economic potential of mid-sized cities

Analysis highlights the importance of fulfilling the economic potential of England's mid-sized cities.

Report published on 25 June 2012 by Paul Swinney

Some of England’s mid-sized cities have performed well in recent years, generating many private sector jobs. But future growth in these places could be held back unless their key economic weaknesses are addressed.

Many mid-sized cities share similar problems relating to the underperformance of their city centres.  This has been a key issue for Sunderland and other similar cities such as Preston and Derby, where many private sector jobs were created in the decade prior to the recession across the whole city, while the city centre lost private sector jobs.  This has had implications for the industrial diversity of the business base and career progression of people working in the city.

See Andrew Carter (Director of Policy & Research, Centre for Cities), Ray Mills (Partner, PwC) and Dave Smith (Chief Executive, Sunderland City Council) discuss the main findings of the research and the report’s key recommendation for a fund for mid-sized cities:

This work is supported by PwC and Sunderland City Council