‘Turnaround town’ Altrincham is named the best place to live

Altrincham in Cheshire has been crowned as the best place to live by the Sunday Times.

Judges travelled thousands of miles around the UK, visiting locations and talking to locals.

They looked for improving towns, villages or city centres, attractive, well-designed homes, and locations bursting with community spirit.

A range of factors were assessed, from schools, transport and broadband speed to culture, green spaces and the health of the high street, to produce a guide to the UK’s finest locations to call home.

Topping a list of 101 locations, Altrincham was described as “the ultimate turnaround town”. It was praised for its revitalised town centre. The Market House, a lively market with an indoor food hall, has been a major contributor to the town’s upturn.

Those behind the guide said Altrincham is a town where family and community are at the heart of everything, while the National Trust’s Dunham Massey, with its Georgian house and ancient deer park, adds a “well-scrubbed taste of the country”.

They said it is that same spirit which is knitting people together during a time of national emergency.

A Facebook group set up days ago for volunteers to visit the ill and vulnerable has already drawn thousands of people offering to help.

The guide used statistics, including house price information, with the help of mortgage company Habito and data provider TwentyCi.

It also identified a series of regional winners, including Victoria Park Village which was top in London; Leith in Edinburgh which came top in Scotland; Narberth, Pembrokeshire, which took first place in Wales; and Ballycastle, Co Antrim, which bagged prime position in Northern Ireland.

Regional winners included Leith which came top in Scotland.