Winchester is best place to live in the UK, study reveals

The quaint southern city is home to the largest farmers' market in the UK, one of Europe's grandest cathedrals and dozens of upmarket shops and restaurants

Winchester has been named the UK city with the best quality of life, according to a Halifax survey

The “practically perfect” county city of Winchester has been named the best place to live in the UK for quality of life, according to a new survey.

The Hampshire city, home to around 45,000 people, has come out as the number one local authority for best quality in the study – knocking its fellow Hampshire district of Hart off the top spot, which it has held for the past five years. Hart fell to number 26 in this year's rankings.

Winchester, previously heralded “the perfect English city” in the annual Sunday Times ‘best places to live’ guide, stands out for its good schools, low crime and broad range of tourist attractions.

It is home to the largest farmers' market in the UK, one of Europe's largest cathedrals and dozens of upmarket shops and restaurants.

A high proportion (96.6 per cent) of residents reported being in good or fairly good health compared to a national average of 94.6 per cent, according to the Halifax findings.

Life expectancy rates in Winchester were also higher than the national average, with Winchester men expected to live to around 82-years-old, while Winchester women could expect to live until they were 85.

Situated only an hour’s train ride from London and boasting an unemployment rate of just 0.6 per cent, Winchester boasts better job prospects than most UK cities.

But despite the new number one spot, the city has also seen the highest house price growth of any UK city in the last 10 years, with house prices going up 79 per cent in the last ten years.

And it hasn't always been regarded quite so highly, making a surprise appearance in the first Crap Towns book in 2003 and placing fifth behind Hythe and ahead of Liverpool.

The Orkney Islands in Scotland come second in the league table, which suggests the cold isn't all bad, as they it is about as far north as you can go in Great Britain.

Wychavon in Worcestershire, the Derbyshire Dales and Hambleton in North Yorkshire were in third, fourth and fifth place, according to the study.

To collate the findings, Halifax looked at a range of factors to determine the places with the best quality of life, including life expectancy, health, employment rates, crime, education, broadband access, population densities and the weather.

Martin Ellis, an economist at Halifax, said: “Looking across a wide range of indicators considered by our research, residents of Winchester in Hampshire enjoy the best quality of life in the UK, benefiting from a combination of above average weekly earnings, low crime rate and good health.

“On the other hand, there is a cost associated with a high quality of life with house prices in Winchester 9.7 times the average annual local income – significantly higher than the UK average of 7.2.”

Top 10 local authorities with best quality of life 2016

1. Winchester, South East

2. Orkney Islands, Scotland

3. Wychavon, West Midlands

4. Derbyshire Dales, East Midlands

5. Hambleton, Yorkshire and the Humber

6. South Cambridgeshire, East of England

7. Purbeck, South West

8. St Albans, East of England

9. Wokingham, South East

10. Chiltern, South East