Wolverhampton named third best place to raise a family in UK in new survey

The city was ranked third in the Family Living Index, which was created by Money Supermarket.

The Index analysed 35 of the UK’s biggest cities against factors including school rankings, access to green space, likelihood of burglary, house prices, job opportunities and average salary.

Wolverhampton was ranked third, scoring highly on jobs and affordable housing, with an average house price of £135,108.

Council chiefs said the city also boasts a city park, eight district parks, 99 open spaces, 30 neighbourhood parks, an urban farm, pitch and putt, two public lidos, five skateparks, 19 natural play areas, 50 traditional play areas, 23 multi-use games areas, 34 football pitches, two cricket wickets, four areas with multiple tennis courts and 26 outdoor gyms.

The council's strategic director for place, Tim Johnson, said: “More than £3.7 billion of investment is on site or in the pipeline for Wolverhampton, helping deliver jobs in a variety of sectors.

“This index shows we are making good progress in regenerating the city, ensuring it is a place where people can enjoy bringing up a family.

“More than 85 per cent of our schools are good or outstanding and we have a strong housing programme delivering new affordable homes and improving existing ones.”

Newcastle took top spot in the index, Derby came second, with Southampton and Bath making up the top five.

A Family Hotspots report last year placed Wolverhampton in the top 10 cities to raise a family.

Bosses said in the past two years Wolverhampton has also been named the fourth best city in the UK (out of 69) to start a business, a top-10 area showing gross value added (GVA) growth, and was fifth in Property Week's 'Hot 100 Retail Locations 2016' rankings for where in the UK investors can find the best retail and leisure opportunities.

Last month, the city was ranked the best Western European city for manufacturing in terms of job creation by fDi Magazine.