BASILDON’S growing popularity has been boosted by a national study celebrating its high wages.

The town's booming economy has seen it top the polls as one of the most attractive places in the country to live and work.

Resarchers from a national think-tank, The Centre for Cities, have now ranked Basildon ninth out of 63 places in Britian for its high wages and low welfare payouts.

Its expanding economy has even seen the group classify Basildon as a city.

Researchers have warned the borough’s high housing costs and low proportion of university educated residents could hinder its future prospects.

The average weekly wage in Basildon is £520, while its annual welfare spend per person is £3,226.

Phil Turner, Tory leader of Basildon Council, said: “This is great news for the borough and for our residents and shows that Basildon’s success is built on our strong local economy and the growth in higher value employment.

“As an attractive location for small companies and large global brands, such as Ford, Konica, Selex ES and New Holland, many companies come here due to the affordable rents, skilled workforce and business friendly support.

“We also have plans to increase accessibility to further and higher education provisions and support improvement at primary level too – an area where we have already seen some progress.”

The Centre for Cities study shows only a quarter of Basildon residents have high level qualifications, ranking it 52nd out of the 63 cities featured.

Andrew Carter, deputy chief executive of the think-thank, said: “Our research shows Basildon is one of only 14 UK cities with higher than average wages, and lower than average welfare spending.

“It’s also one of the fastest growing populations in the UK, all of which bode well for the city’s economic prospects.

“However, there are also challenges for Basildon to overcome to ensure it can continue to thrive in the years to come.

“The city has high housing costs, and also has a low proportion of residents educated to university level. Addressing those issues will be key for the city’s long-term economic growth.”

Since 2010, the number of new businesses has increased faster in Basildon compared to England and Essex as a whole.

In 2015, the borough was home to a total number of 7,725 businesses.

A boost in the amount of high value jobs being made available has led to increased average earnings across the borough.

MAJOR EMPLOYERS SETTING UP BASE IN TOWN

THE arrival of major companies including Amazon and Costa has sparked a major job boost in Basildon.

Web giant Amazon opened a new delivery centre in Christopher Martin Road, near Mayflower Retail Park, in November.

It employs 20 staff directly, but the centre also created about 200 jobs for drivers working for the eight companies delivering parcels on Amazon’s behalf.

Later that month, Costa Coffee started building work on a new £36million roasting plant, also in Christopher Martin Road, which is due to open in early 2017.

Once up and running, the plant could produce most of the 464million cups of coffee sold in Costa coffee shops globally each year.

The new sites add to an already impressive list of major employers with large bases in Basildon.

New Holland employs about 1,000 people at its tractor plant in Cranes Farm Road, which celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2014.

About 5,000 people work at Ford’s Dunton Technical Centre, but the motor company announced this month it was launching a voluntary redundancy programme in a bid to slash costs across its European business.

Strong transport links and close proximity to London have been cited as the main attractions for major firms to set up in Basildon.