Loughborough is happiest place to live in the region

Town came top in East Midlands in Rightmove survey

LOUGHBOROUGH is the happiest place to live in the East Midlands - it’s official!

Well, it is according to Rightmove’s latest Happy at Home Index, which placed Loughborough top for the East Midlands, beating such big hitters as Leicester, Derby, Nottingham and Lincoln.

More than 21,000 people across Great Britain took part in the survey, which asked residents how happy they were where they lived, as well as asking them to rank 12 happiness factors.

These ranged from how safe residents felt and how friendly the neighbours were, to how good the local services were and the quality of green spaces and cultural activities in the area.

Lisa Brown, Love Loughbor- ough BID manager, was pleased to hear the results.

She said: “Thinking about it, Loughborough has just been announced as the area that will represent the East Midlands in the Britain in Bloom competition.

“So we have a nice aesthetic, Queen’s Park is just beautiful. That may be realistically to do with it - we are a nice looking town.

“We work with Charnwood Borough Council very closely to do all we can - bunting, Christmas lights - I think it is a really well kept town. Serco keep it really clean.”

She said the town also featured plenty of events throughout the year, such as the Santa Fun, dog shows and Loughborough by the Sea.

Lisa said: “The event calendar is getting better, it is very varied and they do tend not to be so serious events, very community based.”

She added that Love Loughborough BID’s latest initiative, Elf on a Shelf Christmas Trail, was proving popular among traders and shoppers.

Nationally, Loughborough was placed 65th, with Leigh-on-Sea crowned the happiest place to live in Britain, with Farnham in Surrey in second place and Monmouth in Wales coming third.