31/01/2025
A property consultancy conducting an annual health check on the top 100 towns and cities outside of London has ranked RBWM number one in The Vitality Index.
An annual health assessment of the UK’s largest towns and cities has identified Windsor and Maidenhead as the country's best places to live and work.
The Vitality Index from commercial and residential property consultancy Lambert Smith Hampton (LSH) offers an annual health check on 100 leading towns and cities outside London.
This ranking uses metrics such as the economy, health and environment, and LSH publishes the top ten results yearly.
The Royal Borough has returned as the UK’s number one location in the 2025 Vitality Index, having previously taken the top spot in 2022.
RBWM climbed from fifth position last year to knock Watford from first place and has been a consistent presence in the top ten over the past five years.
Jennifer Lamb, associate director in LSH’s Maidenhead office, said: “It’s great to see Windsor and Maidenhead at the top of this year’s Vitality Index and to see it performing so well in terms of business and the economy, underlining the borough’s growing appeal among employers and office occupiers.
“The new developments of Tempo and One Maidenhead have brought both new workers and residents to Maidenhead, while new retailers moving into Windsor Yards has reinforced the town’s status as a top shopping destination”.
The top ten entries in the LSH Vitality Index 2025 are:
Eight of this year’s top locations are located within the UK’s southernmost regions while the top five are all located near London.
LSH head of planning, regeneration and infrastructure Dr Steven Norris said: "The dominance of south-east locations in the top tier for vitality has been a consistent theme since we launched the index in 2013.
"But the paucity of representation from other parts of the country continues to underline the clear inequalities in health and wealth evident across the country.
"On a positive note, many of the UK’s urban locations witnessed improvements across a host of indicators over the last year and there appears to be a political will to effect change.
"In its mission to deliver a growth agenda, the new government is prioritising the urgent need to address these disparities and deliver opportunities for prosperity.
"Only time will tell whether devolution and other initiatives will help address the longstanding economic underperformance of places outside of London and the South-East."