Sudbury has been identified as the top property hotspot in the country.

A good rail link, its proximity to Stansted Airport, a vibrant town centre, three hours free parking, community facilities including the Kingfisher Leisure Centre plus property developments on the drawing board, all combine to make the town attractive to potential buyers.

The house asking prices in the town have soared by 13.1% over the past year, more than anywhere else in Britain, according to information from Rightmove’s website.

Jacqui Howells, the town clerk, said: “I am not surprised that Sudbury has come out as one of the most desirable places to live. It is a vibrant market town which still manages to retain its heritage and unique identity.

“Vacant retail premises do not remain empty for long and Sudbury attracts both national chains as well as small independent businesses.

“The bustling town centre is surrounded by wonderful water meadows still reminiscent of the days of Gainsborough. We have many wonderful voluntary organisations and there is a good community spirit with residents getting involved and having their say about the future of their town.

Simon Barrett, vice chairman of the Sudbury Chamber of Commerce and who is a Babergh District councillor for Sudbury South, added: “Whenever a unit in the town centre is vacated it is always taken up very quickly and on top of that we have big stores such as Waitrose and Sainsbury’s.

“There’s free parking for three hours with 1,200 spaces available and we are only 40 minutes from Stansted Airport with improvement planned for the A120 (the road which feeds into Stansted).

“The leisure centre is superb and we have other clubs and organisations including the Rowing Club and the Quay Theatre plus the rail link into London.

“It’s a fantastic place to live and we have the advantage of being just on the Suffolk Essex border and have a surrounding set of feeder villages which enables our town to thrive. Everything works and why would people not want to live here?”

Dan Gurney, area manager at William H Brown Estate Agents, in Sudbury, said of the area: “It’s a thriving market town with picturesque countryside on its doorstep so, all combined, it’s no surprise that it tops the table for price growth.

“Sudbury is a property hotspot for those buyers attracted to its close proximity to Cambridge and range of Georgian and Victorian properties, plus we’ve seen a wave of buyers from London - it has certainly benefited from a ‘ripple out’ effect where buyers look for more for their money away from climbing city house prices.”

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said: “Although prices have grown at a muted rate of 1.2% nationally this year, there are a number of local markets where strong demand and short supply has led to pretty heady price rises, especially in areas where homes are relatively more affordable than some of their nearby cities.”