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Hart in Hampshire is UK's most desirable place to live for third year in a row | Mail Online
Hart in Hampshire is voted most desirable place to live in the UK for the third year. . . so it's no
wonder house prices are SEVEN TIMES the average wageResidents live the longest in the country 82.9 years for men, compared with the UK average of 79 yearsPeople earn ?843 a week compared
with national average of ?616, and employment rate is 80 per cent, compared with 71 per cent
nationwideCentred around the town of Fleet, the district has 84 square-miles of green wooded
landscape and Hampshire's largest freshwater lake
ByWilliam Turvill
PUBLISHED:05:54 EST, 21 December 2013|UPDATED:07:43 EST, 21 December 2013
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The Hampshire district of Hart has been named as the most desirable place to live in the UK for a
third year in a row, it has emerged.
Nestled in the north-east corner of the county, residents of Hart have the longest life expectancy in
the country - 82.9 years for men, compared with the UK average, 79 - and are considered the UK's
healthiest.
People earn an average ?843 a week compared with the national average of ?616, and the
employment rate in the area is 80 per cent - nine percentage points higher than the national
average.

2. The district of Hart in north-east Hampshire has been named as the most desirable place to live in
the UK
Nestled in the north-east corner of the county, Hart residents have the longest life expectancy in the
country

3. This is the third year in a row that the district of Hart has been named the most desirable place to
live
The region, which is centred around the town of Fleet, described as 'a step back in time', has 84
square-miles of green wooded landscape and Hampshire's largest freshwater lake.
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But Hart residents do pay for their quality of life - with the average house price costing seven times
the annual local wage - much higher than the UK average multiple, 5.8 times.
Uttlesford in Essex, which came in second place, also has an average house price-to-earnings ratio of
seven.
Placed at number six a year ago, the district performed particularly well with its 84 per cent
employment rate and weekly average earnings of ?819.

4. The area has has 84 square-miles of green wooded landscape and Hampshire's largest freshwater
lake

5. Hart residents do pay for their quality of life, with the average house price costing seven times the
local salary
The area is centred around the town of Fleet, which has been described as 'a step back in time'
The Halifax quality of life survey, which looks at a wide range of factors such as health and life
expectancy, crime rates, weather, employment and the performance of local schools.
FAMOUS FOR SPORTING PROWESS
The local government district of Hart, named after the river that runs through it, is an area
renowned for its quality of life.
While its main town, Fleet, may be most famous for its service station, it has produced some great
sporting names.
Golfer Justin Rose, tennis player John Feaver and motor racing driver Jeremy Metcalfe all have ties
to the area.
In addition, a Sport England survey found Hart to be the fifth most active district in the country,
with more than a quarter of people exercising three times a week.

6. As well as the high income associated with the area, this sporting prowess may go some way to
explaining the average high life expectancy.
There are believed to be around 85,000 residents in the area, which has a Conservative-controlled
council.
Fleet, which is 37 miles south-west of London, has also produced actresses Juliet Aubrey and Raquel
Cassidy.
Nowhere in Wales or Northern Ireland made the top 50 list, but Scotland scraped in with the Orkney
Islands placed at number 50.
Just one area of London was included, with the City of London in 38th position.
This year saw several big climbers into the top ten list of districts with the best quality of life, mainly
because Halifax has started taking into account new Office for National Statistics (ONS) research
into personal wellbeing.
South Northamptonshire soared up 27 places to the third spot, Rushcliffe in Nottingham shot up
from number 22 last year to seven and Winchester, which was placed at number 34 in 2012, is now
in ninth place.
The new ONS research also helped to push Uttlesford into second place. It revealed that adults in
Uttlesford believe, more than anywhere else in the UK, that what they do in life is worthwhile,
scoring 8.4 out of 10 on this measure.
Continuing a trend, the South East dominated the top 50 list, claiming almost half of it, with a total
of 24 mentions. Meanwhile, the East of England claimed 12 of the places.
Southern areas tend to score more highly for weekly earnings, weather, health and life expectancy
while the North fares well on education and lower house prices in relation to earnings.

7. Uttlesford came second in the list, with an 84 per cent employment rate and weekly average
earnings of ?819
Nowhere in Wales or Northern Ireland made the top 50 list, but Scotland scraped in with the Orkney
Islands

8. Researchers found that employment is highest in Northamptonshire, at 88.9 per cent. The highest
weekly average earnings are in the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea at ?1,323.
Meanwhile, the biggest homes are in Uttlesford, Chiltern, South Buckinghamshire and Rutland,
which all have an average of 6.4 habitable rooms. The smallest homes are all in central London - in
the City of London, Tower Hamlets and Westminster. All these London areas have less than four
habitable rooms on average.
A total of 100 per cent of homes in East Ayrshire, Scotland, were found to have central heating,
compared with the average of 96 per cent. The Orkney Islands has the lowest burglary rate at one
per 10,000 people.
Just one area of London was included, with the City of London in 38th position in the top-50 list
Castle Point in Essex has the lowest average annual rainfall at 20in (508mm), while the Isle of Wight
was named as the sunniest place in the UK. Isle of Wight residents enjoy 37.4 hours of sunshine a
week, compared with the national average of 29.7 hours.
Martin Ellis, an economist at Halifax, said: 'The old adage of "health, wealth and happiness" is the
traditional measure of a good quality of life.
'For the third year running Hart has delivered against a range of indicators to demonstrate its
residents have the best quality of life in the UK.'
TOP 20 LOCAL AUTHORITY DISTRICTS TO LIVE IN THE UK

9. The Windsor and Maidenhead district came 14th
Here are the top 50 local authority districts in the UK in Halifax's quality of life survey:
1. Hart, South East
2. Uttlesford, East of England
3. South Northamptonshire, East Midlands
4. Waverley, South East
5. East Hertfordshire, East of England
6. Elmbridge, South East
7. Rushcliffe, East Midlands
8. Wokingham, South East

10. 9. Winchester, South East
10. Chelmsford, East of England
11. South Cambridgeshire, East of England
12. Mole Valley, South East
13. Vale of White Horse, South East
14. Windsor and Maidenhead, South East
15. Chiltern, South East
16. Epsom and Ewell, South East
17. Mid Sussex, South East
18. South Kesteven, East Midlands
19. North Kesteven, East Midlands
20. Horsham, South East
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Comments (42)
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Kat,wirral, United Kingdom,moments ago
South East, South East, South East.Nowhere in Wales!What a biased article.
New Comment00Click to rate
st george,cheshire,7 minutes ago

14. for the top seven pics, i could name the double near to me, amazing............
ReplyNew00Click to rate
BazzaDon,Birmingham, United Kingdom,8 minutes ago
I thought it was Solihull. DM dont make any sense too me
New Comment00Click to rate
Paddy,Ipswich UK,9 minutes ago
84 square miles of green wooded landscape eh? Not for much longer if Cameron and Boles have
their way!
ReplyNew00Click to rate
Paddy,Ipswich UK,10 minutes ago
84 square miles of green wooded landscape eh? Not for much longer if Cameron and Boles have
their way!
New Comment00Click to rate
Cymru Am Byth,Monmouth,12 minutes ago
Quite agree.I don't know who picked these but I am sure that the North of England, Wales, Scotland
and Ireland have equally as beautiful and tranquil places to live as those featured.It is no surprise
however that it is centred around the South of England.
ReplyNew01Click to rate
AngieA,Solihull,23 minutes ago
I'm confused.Last week it was Solihull.
New Comment01Click to rate
zoe,hertfordshire,24 minutes ago
St albans is the best place to live.
ReplyNew30Click to rate
amy_1,Hampshire,25 minutes ago
I personally live in Fleet and although it's not a bad place to live at all, I still have NO clue why it
wins this award every year
New Comment04Click to rate
Evil Gazebo,Edinburgh,27 minutes ago
Hate to live there,bet they're all "Ukippers"
ReplyNew133Click to rate
2 of 3 repliesSee all replies
wageslavedave,hull,7 minutes ago

15. were all ukipers now, even us former old labourites.
00Click to rate
daysy blue ware,ware, United Kingdom,5 minutes ago
nothing wrong with UKIP
00Click to rate
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