Prosperity In Every Postcode

Do you want to be great at economic development? With this book Prosperity In Every Postcode - you can stop dreaming and start delivering.

Five questions for your office wall

The book is built around five questions. I would like every economic development leadership team to put them on the office wall, and to ask them of every major commitment.

1. What's the cause – and are you sure you know?
2. What's possible – and why might you be accepting 'not possible' for an answer?
3. What will you build – and what will you stop doing?
4. If delivery isn't working – why?
5. How will you know it worked – and that it benefited who you said it would?

A leadership team that can answer all five, in public, with evidence, is running one of the best economic development functions in the world – whatever its budget. 

Do you want to learn the disciplines that separate places that deliver from places that can only dream? This book tells you what you need to do and why.

'Glenn Athey has written the book the new devolved institutions need before they need it. He is unflinching about forty years of central failure, but braver still in holding a mirror up to those of us who lead locally. If you are building a strategic authority or a new unitary council and you want it to deliver, not just announce, read this now.'

Rob Huntingdon, Chief Executive, Rossendale Borough Council

'This highly engaging and important book should be mandatory reading not just for academics interested in greater spatial economic balance, but crucially for all those involved in economic policymaking, both at local and national levels.  Glenn Athey is to be congratulated for writing what for long has been sorely needed: a cogent, informed, hard-hitting but eminently practical book on how ‘prosperity in every postcode’ can actually be achieved.”

Professor Ron Martin ScD FBA, Professor of Economic Geography, University of Cambridge

“The book offers a non-nonsense guide to the factors that local leaders should consider in their quest to be Top-of-the-Class.  They are encouraged to answer five key questions that Glenn argues should be imprinted in their organisational DNA. The structure of the book, building as it does on the five key journeys of reckoning, truth, discovery, the work and leadership, is highly effective in getting core messages across. Analytically rigorous and easy to read, this book should be compulsory reading for those charged to take advantage of the opportunities provided by devolution to transform their local economies.”

Professor Peter Tyler, Emeritus Professor of Urban and Regional Economics, Department of Land Economy, University of Cambridge and Emeritus Professorial Fellow at St Catharine’s College, Cambridge

“What a brilliant book! It shines an important light on how to actually make economic development work at what is a pivotal time in the industry. Glenn is genuinely curious in examining best practice and barriers to economic development and is generous in sharing his considerable experiences to bring together practical ways to build a best in class economic development team. I wish I had this years ago!”

James Cushing, Head of Local Growth, Connected Places Catapult

'As we move to a new phase of devolution in England, this book challenges place leaders to start with an honest and critical view of their local economy's past, present and potential future. This powerful book jumps straight to the hard truths about local economic development - and gives practitioners the tools to face those hard truths.'

Majeed Neky, Assistant Director, Economy, West London Alliance

Publisher - Bookvault

Language - English

Perfect Bound

Contributors

By author

Glenn Athey

Published Date - 2026-09-21

ISBN - 9781067637194

Dimensions - 20.3 x 12.7 x 1.2 cm

Page Count - 224