Town is jewel in the crown

WARRINGTON is the jewel in the North West’s crown, according to borough council leader Ian Marks.
A report by the influential think-tank, Centre for Cities, shows that the town’s economy has performed strongly in the last 12 months.
Centre for Cities has analysed the economic performance of 63 cities and major towns across the UK.
Its league tables show that Warrington is ranked sixth for highest earnings and ninth for highest employment rates.
No other town or city in the whole of the North of England makes either Top 10.
Cllr Marks (pictured) said: “Warrington performed even better last year than it did the year before.
“I am proud to be leader of a council that is playing an active role in working with the private sector to make our town a prosperous place. The Local Enterprise Partnership we have set up with our colleagues in Cheshire should provide the vehicle for driving growth and jobs and helping rebalance the economy bringing more prosperity to the north.
“Warrington is well positioned to be at the forefront of this.”
Cllr Marks said Warrington was fortunate in having a large number of well-paid jobs.
But he added: “We mustn’t be complacent because we all know we have areas of deprivation where people are not so well-off, and closing the gap remains a top priority for the council.”
Warrington scores well on a number of other factors. Despite the closure of the North West Development Agency, whose headquarters is in Warrington, the borough is in the bottom 10 cities for likely job losses in the public sector.
Cllr Marks added: “On average we have more affordable houses than many other high earning places. Although we are near the bottom of the table for having high carbon dioxide levels because of the presence of Fiddlers Ferry Power Station, at least we have seen one of the largest drops in levels over the past year.”