[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"authority-cherwell":3},{"authority":4,"scoredCount":14,"pillars":15,"ranks":55,"averages":62,"peers":65,"rankLine":84,"countyIsDistinct":21,"content":85,"contentMeta":117,"dataFrom":120,"dataTo":121,"dataChangedAt":122},{"slug":5,"name":6,"county":7,"regionName":8,"region":9,"councilName":10,"activeCompanies":11,"score":12,"halfRange":13},"cherwell","Cherwell","Oxfordshire","South East","south-east","Cherwell Council",9744,1096,27,361,[16,27,37,46],{"key":17,"name":18,"colourVar":19,"compositeWeight":20,"shown":21,"score":22,"halfRange":23,"rank":24,"rankOf":14,"outperforms":25,"topPercent":26},"innovation","Innovation","--pillar-innovation",0.3,true,1172,46,7,98.1,2,{"key":28,"name":29,"colourVar":30,"compositeWeight":20,"shown":21,"score":31,"halfRange":32,"rank":33,"rankOf":34,"outperforms":35,"topPercent":36},"scaling","Scaling","--pillar-scaling",1035,25,47,360,86.9,20,{"key":38,"name":39,"colourVar":40,"compositeWeight":20,"shown":21,"score":41,"halfRange":42,"rank":43,"rankOf":34,"outperforms":44,"topPercent":45},"investment","Investment","--pillar-investment",1092,43,19,94.7,10,{"key":47,"name":48,"colourVar":49,"compositeWeight":50,"shown":21,"score":51,"halfRange":52,"rank":53,"rankOf":14,"outperforms":54,"topPercent":32},"esg","ESG","--pillar-esg",0.1,1064,26,82,77.3,{"national":56,"region":57,"county":60},12,{"rank":58,"of":59},3,64,{"rank":58,"of":61},5,{"county":63,"region":64},1168,1003,[66,71,75,76,80],{"slug":67,"name":68,"score":69,"isCurrent":70},"oxford","Oxford",1400,false,{"slug":72,"name":73,"score":74,"isCurrent":70},"vale-of-white-horse","Vale of White Horse",1287,{"slug":5,"name":6,"score":12,"isCurrent":21},{"slug":77,"name":78,"score":79,"isCurrent":70},"south-oxfordshire","South Oxfordshire",1062,{"slug":81,"name":82,"score":83,"isCurrent":70},"west-oxfordshire","West Oxfordshire",1039,"12th of 361 authorities nationally",{"heroSummary":86,"intro":87,"pillarCommentary":91,"compareSummary":96,"faqs":97,"metaDescription":116},"Cherwell ranks 12th of 361 local authorities in the UK Local Growth Index, scoring 1,096 against the UK benchmark of 1,000. That places it 96 points above the UK benchmark and 3rd within Oxfordshire, behind Oxford and one other authority. Its strongest result is on Innovation, where it ranks 7th nationally.",[88,89,90],"Cherwell's composite score of 1,096 is built from four pillars: Innovation, Scaling, Investment and ESG, weighted at 30%, 30%, 30% and 10% respectively.","Each score is an average across the area's active companies, with corporate groups counted once. That averaging means a smaller authority with highly active companies can score above a much larger one, making this a fair comparison between authorities of different sizes.","The UK benchmark is set at 1,000, so Cherwell's score of 1,096 means its companies are meaningfully more active across these measures than the national picture. The likely range for its composite score is 1,069 to 1,123, which shows how much the score could shift with a slightly different mix of companies; a score is only published when that range is narrow enough to rely on.",{"innovation":92,"scaling":93,"investment":94,"esg":95},"Innovation covers patents, academic spinouts, R&D grant value, innovative sector tags and IS-8 sector classification. Cherwell ranks 7th of 361 authorities on this pillar, scoring 1,172, which is 172 points above the UK benchmark and places it in the top 2% nationally. That result points to a strong concentration of companies active in patenting, R&D grant funding and recognised innovative sectors.","Scaling measures whether companies qualify as scaleups, their headcount growth rate, and accelerator participation. Cherwell scores 1,035, ranking 47th of 360 authorities and sitting 35 points above the UK benchmark. It falls within the top 20% nationally, suggesting its companies are adding staff at a rate noticeably ahead of the UK average, though the gap is more modest here than on Innovation or Investment.","Investment captures equity raisers, the value of equity raised, and first-time raisers, all measured over the last five years. Cherwell ranks 19th of 360 authorities on this pillar, scoring 1,092, which is 92 points above the UK benchmark and places it in the top 10% nationally. That signals a notably active equity funding environment relative to most of the UK.","ESG covers clean energy activity, other green activity, environmental accolades, social and governance signals, and a not-for-profit proxy. Cherwell's ESG score of 1,064 ranks 82nd of 361 authorities and sits 64 points above the UK benchmark. While this is Cherwell's lowest-ranking pillar, it still outperforms more than three-quarters of all authorities.","The chart below places Cherwell's composite score alongside its Oxfordshire neighbours, including the county leader Oxford at 1,400.",[98,101,104,107,110,113],{"question":99,"answer":100},"What is Cherwell's score in the UK Local Growth Index?","Cherwell scores 1,096, which is 96 points above the UK benchmark of 1,000. It ranks 12th of 361 local authorities nationally.",{"question":102,"answer":103},"How does Cherwell compare to the rest of Oxfordshire?","Cherwell ranks 3rd of the 5 authorities in Oxfordshire, scoring 72 points below the county average of 1,168. Oxford leads the county with a score of 1,400.",{"question":105,"answer":106},"Which pillar is Cherwell strongest on?","Innovation is Cherwell's strongest pillar. It scores 1,172, ranking 7th of 361 authorities and placing it in the top 2% nationally.",{"question":108,"answer":109},"How does Cherwell perform on investment activity?","Cherwell ranks 19th of 360 authorities on Investment, scoring 1,092 and sitting 92 points above the UK benchmark. That places it in the top 10% of all authorities.",{"question":111,"answer":112},"What does the likely range on each score mean?","The likely range shows how much a score could move with a slightly different mix of companies in the area. Cherwell's composite likely range is 1,069 to 1,123, and a score is only published when that range is narrow enough to rely on.",{"question":114,"answer":115},"How many companies does Cherwell's score cover?","The index covers 9,744 active companies in Cherwell, with corporate groups counted once rather than as individual registered entities.","Cherwell ranks 12th of 361 UK local authorities in the Local Growth Index, scoring 1,096. Strongest on Innovation, where it ranks 7th nationally.",{"source":118,"cached":21,"generatedAt":119},"claude:claude-sonnet-4-6","2026-10-20 10:32:17",2021,2026,"2026-10-20"]