Crumb of comfort in lifestyle survey

May 5 2008 by Dave Black, The Journal

ONLY one rural area in the North-East has made it into the top 50 of a national league table showing where Britain’s countryside dwellers enjoy the best quality of life.

Castle Morpeth in Northumberland – which includes picturesque and affluent communities such as Morpeth, Ponteland, Mitford, Whalton, Stannington and Hepscott – has been rated 44th best in the UK following new research carried out by estate agents Halifax. It is the only local authority in the region to make the top 50 in the first Rural Quality of Life survey carried out by the company.

Tynedale in Northumberland was rated 65th and Wear Valley in County Durham 115th out of the 117 rural areas analysed in the survey.

The findings are based on indicators of living standards such as employment, earnings, housing quality, weather, carbon emissions, crime, education and health.

They follow a similar Halifax survey published earlier this year which ranked counties in order of their quality of life.

In that research Northumberland came 45th, the Scottish Borders 49th while County Durham missed out.

The latest survey shows that people living in the leafy Chiltern area of Buckinghamshire have the best quality of life in rural Britain. They are the healthiest in the country, have the highest life expectancy at 80 years, enjoy the biggest average annual income of £45,000 and are living in an area with highest average house price, £503,000 in December last year.

In addition, eight out of 10 people own their own home, properties are also larger than average with 6.3 rooms, GCSE results are above the national average and the area even enjoys slightly more sunshine per week than other regions at 28.6 hours.

In comparison, the average house price in Castle Morpeth is put at £260,000, although the Northumberland borough is top of the national list in terms of the biggest proportion of homes with central heating – 98%.

Yesterday Castle Morpeth Council leader Peter Jackson, who lives in rural Belsay, said: “As a council we have been striving to play our part in improving quality of life in the borough and to have that recognised nationally is something we are very proud of.

“I am surprised that Northumberland doesn’t fare a bit better in these surveys because both Alnwick and Hexham have been recognised as good places to live for various reasons.

“People who live in Northumberland recognise what a special place it is.”

The survey found people living in Waverley, in Surrey, have the second highest quality of life followed by those in Tandridge, also in Surrey.

Others in the top 10 are West Berkshire, South Cambridgeshire, Rutland, Uttlesford, Vale of White Horse, Mid-Sussex and Aylesbury Vale.

I’m surprised that Northumberland doesn’t fare a bit better in these surveys