Monmouth the happiest in Wales

MONMOUTH has been revealed as the third happiest place to live in Britain.

The Welsh town lost out to Leigh-on-Sea, with Farnham in Surrey in second place.

The Essex coastal resort took the top spot in Rightmove’s happy at home index in 2016 and has climbed back into first place this year.

The findings follow a survey of more than 21,000 people by Rightmove, which asked people how happy they were with where they live across 219 areas in Britain, based on factors such as community spirit, feeling safe, earning enough money to live comfortably, proximity to green spaces and amenities, friendliness and artistic and cultural activities.

Last year’s happiest place to live, Leamington Spa, came fifth in this year’s survey.

Nowhere in Scotland made the top 10, with Edinburgh scoring best north of the border, but only 41st in the overall rankings.

The research found that Dumfries in Scotland scored particularly well for community spirit, while Caerphilly scored highly for friendly neighbours.

Leafy Richmond-upon-Thames was named the happiest place in London for the fourth year in a row, and was 29th overall.

Rightmove’s report quoted Rob Cooke, director of Hunt Roche estate agents in Leigh-on-Sea, who said: “There is just a lot going on, there are some pretty trendy parts of Leigh-on-Sea.”