Elmbridge 'best for quality of life'

Residents of Elmbridge in Surrey have the best quality of life in Britain, according to a study.

The town came top of the Halifax Quality of Life Survey, which ranked 408 local authorities across several key measures including the labour market, the housing market, the environment, education and health.

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "Residents in this part of Surrey tend to be healthy, have high life expectancy, enjoy relatively high earnings and are highly likely to own their own home.

"Elmbridge also has good school results and the weather is better than the national average."

Average earnings in Elmbridge are the second highest in the survey, at £1,048 per week.

The majority of householders are owner-occupiers (78 per cent), while houses are larger than average (6.1 rooms). GCSE results are also above average and the area sees almost two hours more sunshine per week (30 hours) than the British average.

The town has won the accolade of 'best quality of life' before, leading it to be dubbed the "Beverley Hills of Surrey" in 2006 by the Daily Mail.

"Living in Elmbridge, however, comes at a price with average property prices more than £170,000 above the average for the south-east," Mr Ellis added.

South Norfolk, Baberge, Rochford and St Edmundsbury are four areas that have a high quality of life combined with lower than average house prices, therefore offering good value for money housing, Halifax said.