Cheshire East named ‘happiest place’ in England

Cheshire East has been named as the happiest place to live in England.

It came fifth in the whole of the UK in the Office for National Statistics' happiness survey – and was placed number one outside Scotland.

A survey of more than 300,000 people across Britain by the Office for National Statistics found East Cheshire was only pipped to the title of happiest place to live in Britain by three Scottish island regions and the Scottish Highlands.

Councillor David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council, said he was delighted by this national recognition – but not surprised.

He said: "This is wonderful news and confirms what we have been saying for some time – that Cheshire East is a fabulous place to live, work, visit and do business.

"It has a very strong local economy, vibrant communities, fantastic schools and beautiful towns, villages and countryside – no wonder it puts a smile on people's faces.

"There is so much to celebrate and enjoy about living in Cheshire East that I'm not surprised this survey has highlighted it on the national stage."

The study, carried out by the Office for National Statistics, asked people to rate their happiness on a scale of one to 10 in the three-year study between 2012-2015, with 0-4 classed as 'low' and 9-10 as 'very high'.

Cheshire East has already been named Best place to live in the North West two years running by the Halifax Quality of Life survey, our schools are the second best in England (ranking based on performance in Ofsted inspections) and the Best in the North West for our low Neets (Not in employment, education or training) figure for youngsters.

Photo: Councillor David Brown, Deputy Leader of Cheshire East Council.