Salford City Council exists to serve its residents and provides a complete and comprehensive range of services and facilities. The council's mission statement is "to create the best possible quality of life for the people of Salford." Salford is a city constantly changing and moving into an exciting future as a thriving cultural, economic and residential location. It is located in Greater Manchester, covers 37 square miles and has a population of 220,000. Salford is one of Britain’s ‘key growth’ areas, recording the fastest growing population and economy outside of London. It is home to 8,700 businesses who employ more than 140,000 people and MediaCityUK, which has boosted the economy by £1bn in just five years. Investment continues and more than £3.5billion in non residential developments are already planned in Salford over the next 10 years. This is on top of the 17,800 homes which have been granted planning permission in the past five years.