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New report cites Sunderland as fourth best location to make a living in the UK

Sunderland has been revealed as the top place in the North East and the fourth best location in the UK to make a living.

The city was highly ranked in a new report by credit comparison website TotallyMoney.com, which based its findings on wages compared to mortgage payments, the cost of living and the local jobs market in 64 towns and cities.

Sunderland was only beaten by Blackburn, Derby and Cambridge in the league table, while London could only manage 26th position and Birmingham was 30th.

Sunderland has a strong employment market, which has seen the creation of over 5,500 jobs in the last three years and investment of £384.7m in projects to boost employment and the local economy.

In 2014/15, 54 new projects - including automotive supplier Vantec’s second major warehouse development in the city - pulled in funding of £117m and led to 2,400 new jobs.

The largest investment was in the automotive sector, where £83m of capital expenditure on 12 projects led to 820 new jobs. The growing software and IT industry created 210 jobs, contact centres brought in 1,100 additional posts and other sectors combined to create 275 jobs.

Anthony Reynolds from the Sunderland City Centre Traders’ Association runs Reynolds Outdoor Centre in the city centre, selling outdoor gear. He is the fifth generation of his family to take the helm of the business and returned home to Sunderland to run it.

He said: “The city is a good place for us to be based because it’s well-positioned for the coast and we’re not too far from Northumberland and the Lake District. There is a lot going on in Sunderland with leisure facilities and provisions for health and welfare.”

The Traders Association was set up in the city centre through discussions with Sunderland City Council’s business investment team.

Anthony continued: “We have a good working partnership with the City Council. They recognise that retail is an important part of the city centre and understand business needs. We worked with the City Council to get a parking permit system for businesses, and found good communication rapport with them.”

Although the TotallyMoney.com study did not factor culture and other attractions into its calculations, this is an added draw for Sunderland. Tourism supports more than 5,000 jobs in the city and brought in £384.38m in visitor spending last year. Events such as One Direction at the Stadium of Light, the annual Sunderland International Airshow and major productions such as War Horse and The Lion King at the Sunderland Empire helped attract 8.3 million visitors to the city.

Councillor Paul Watson, leader of Sunderland City Council, said: “It’s great news that Sunderland’s status as a great place to live and work has been recognised.

“The city has a healthy jobs market, with a strong showing in automotive, IT and the contact centre sectors, plus a diverse range of other businesses from manufacturing to retail.

“We have good value housing and a low cost of living when compared to many other parts of the country, and we’re also proud to be a vibrant city with plenty going on from sport to culture.

“Sunderland is a great place to start a business or relocate a growing enterprise. For anyone thinking of making the move to the city, the City Council can help, advise and support you.”

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