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Regional Quality of Life guide

Saturday, 24 December 2011 1:00 PM

Hart in Hampshire is the best place to live in the UK, according to a survey by the Halifax.

The bank's annual Quality of Life survey ranks local authority districts on a series of key indicators covering the labour market, housing market, the environment, education and health.

Hart won the top spot based on its residents' health and life expectancy, employment, low crime rate, weather and other factors such as good broadband.

Among other things, 95 per cent of residents say they are in good or fairly good health, weekly average earnings are 40 per cent above the UK average and there are three more hours of sunshine per week than average.

The big downside is house prices, with an average home costing 6.3 times local average earnings against a UK average of 5.25.

Elmbridge in Surrey took second place in the list and 42 of the top 50 were in the South East and East of England.

The only places outside southern England to make the top 50 were Wychavon in Worcestershire (6th), Rushcliffe in Nottingham (16th), Rutland (22nd) and North Kesteven in Lincolnshire (36th).

Martin Ellis, economist at Halifax, said: "Looking across a range of indicators residents of Hart in Hampshire enjoy the best quality of life in the UK.

"On the other hand, average house prices in the area are amongst the highest relative to local earnings, highlighting that a high standard of living often comes at a price."

The top places in the UK for:

Highest employment: Maidstone in Kent where the rate is 84.0 per cent, closely followed by the Shetland Islands, (83.8 per cent) and West Somerset (83.7 per cent).

Highest weekly average earnings: Kensington & Chelsea (£1,521 per week) followed by City of London (£1,239), Westminster (£1,141) and Elmbridge (£1,127).

Biggest homes: Wychavon in Worcestershire with an average of 7.4 habitable rooms, followed by Derbyshire Dales and Hertsmere (both 7.0).

Most central heating: Western Isles (90% of homes), closely followed by Blackburn with Darwen (89%).

Least empty homes: Waveney (0.1%).

Cheapest house prices: Lowest average house price to earnings ratio is in Pendle in Lancashire (3.5), followed by North Ayrshire and Blaenau Gwent (both 3.6). The highest ratio is in Kensington & Chelsea, where the average price is 12.2 times local annual average earnings.

Least traffic: The Western Isles, the Highlands, Argyle and Bute, Orkney and Shetland Islands. The Isles of Scilly and Powys are the two areas outside Scotland in the top 10.

Lowest burglary rates: The Western Isles (3.8 per 10,000 households) followed by the Orkneys (5.0), West Devon (7.8) and North Norfolk (7.9).

Lowest CO2 emissions: Tower Hamlets (1.50 tonnes of CO2 per household), followed by Southwark (1.60 tonnes) and Camden (1.68 tonnes). The national average is 2.21 tonnes per capita.

Lowest population density: The Western Isles and the Highlands with just 9 persons per square kilometre. The average for the UK is 257.

Lowest rainfall: Castle Point in Essex (508 mm per year). Medway and Barking and Dagenham are the only areas outside the East of England in the top 10.

Most sun: The Isle of Wight (37.4 hours of sunshine a week). The national average is 29.7 hours.

Best health: Wokingham, Isles of Scilly, Hart and Surrey Heath where 95% of households rate themselves in good or fairly good health.

Life expectancy: Kensington & Chelsea (85.1 years), followed by Westminster (83.8 years) and East Dorset (82.0 years). The top ten in this category is dominated by local authority districts in southern England.

Smallest primary school class sizes: The Western Isles (14 pupils), followed by Shetland Islands and the Orkneys (both 17). Five of the ten local authority districts with the smallest average primary school class sizes are in Northern Ireland.

Best GCSE results in England: Darlington (92% with five or more GCSE results -grades A-C), followed by Hammersmith and Fulham, Sutton, East Dunbartonshire, Shetland Islands, and Kensington and Chelsea (all over 90%).

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