The Suffolk district of Babergh is the second happiest place in the UK, according to a new study.
Royal Mail’s Happiness Index, which is composed of eight measures including reported personal wellbeing, life expectancy, earnings and access to services, was commissioned in early 2019.
Babergh, which comprises the towns of Sudbury and Hadleigh along with the villages of Lavenham, East Bergholt and Long Melford, was second only to Winchester, Hampshire, in the index.
Babergh scored the highest ranking for low carbon emissions, while its access to services also contributed to its top two placing.
Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire, Chiltern in Buckinghamshire, and Ribble Valley in Lancashire completed the top five.
Forest Heath, which covers Newmarket, Mildenhall, Brandon and Lakenheath, was also found to be a happy place following a seventh placed ranking in the study.
Arthur Charvonia, chief executive of Babergh and Mid Suffolk district councils, said the ranking reflected people’s “strong sense of pride” in the area.
“It’s wonderful news that Babergh has been voted the second happiest place in the UK and I’m proud of the part that Babergh District Council plays in making this area such a special place to live and work,” he said. “It’s testament to our people, our communities and our businesses who have such a strong sense of pride in the area, and who work tirelessly and collaboratively to make Babergh such a happy place.”
A spokesman for Forest Heath said: “It is no surprise, Forest Heath is a great place to live, work and grow your business.
“It seems the sun shines in west Suffolk hence we have one of the largest solar farms of its kind which has helped Forest Heath District Council be carbon neutral, just one of the criteria in the survey.
“Thousands of people come to the area for their holidays or visit our country parks and attractions. The new West Suffolk Council is designed to help continue that prosperity and happiness.”
East Renfrewshire was found to be the happiest place in Scotland, while Monmouthshire topped the list in Wales.
Making up the outer suburbs of Belfast, Lisburn and Castlereagh was the happiest place in Northern Ireland.
The top ten of happiest places to live in the UK (which are all in England) according to the index are as follows:
1. Winchester
2. Babergh
3. Rushcliffe
4. Chiltern
5. Ribble Valley
6. Waverley
7. Forest Heath
8. Surrey Heath
9. Elmbridge
10. Epsom and Ewell
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