With its charming riverside location, historic buildings and independent shops, Woodbridge has much to shout about. And now, according to the results of a nationwide survey, it appears its residents tend to agree.

Woodbridge has been ranked as the 10th happiest place in the UK, based on factors such as friendly neighbours, services and green spaces.

News of the high placement has been welcomed by people and organisations in the town, who say they back the survey’s findings.

Woodbridge mayor Stephen Attwell said he “wasn’t surprised” by the findings. “Woodbridge is a very beautiful place to live; it has an interesting range of historic and modern buildings, coupled with stunning views across the river Deben,” he added.

“It’s a very safe town with a low crime rate, has a good range of shops and facilities and is well-placed for visiting the sea and cultural places like Aldeburgh – it’s a very attractive place to live.”

Choose Woodbridge, which works to promote the town, said it “has always been able to win the hearts of locals and visitors alike”.

“Choose Woodbridge are delighted to hear that the charm of Woodbridge’s sense of community, in addition to our local amenities and events, has won us a spot as one of the happiest places to live in the country according to a survey by Rightmove,” it said.

“We very much agree with this. We strive to make Woodbridge shine as a beautiful town filled with rich heritage, fine local food and shops, making both the locals and visitors happy to be here. Next year we hope to be even higher up the list.”

According to the Rightmove survey, completed by almost 24,000 people across the UK, Woodbridge scored particularly well under the heading “I can be myself”, for which it came second out of 206 towns.

With its location on the edge of the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the town also scored highly for “nature and green spaces”, for which it was the fourth most highly ranked.

The next highest score in Suffolk and north Essex was Bury St Edmunds, which came 13th overall; followed by Colchester at 101 and Ipswich at 137.

The overall “happiest town”, according to the survey, was Leigh on Sea in Essex, followed by Troon in Scotland and Harrogate in Yorkshire.