02.04.2017

Revealed: Best rural places to live

News Rural Access to Health and Care Services Rural Communities

Britain's best rural places to live in 2017 have been revealed in the latest annual quality of life survey.

The Orkney Islands are rated as the rural district of the UK with the highest quality of life.

Wychavon in Worcestershire takes second place and the Derbyshire Dales in the East Midlands take the third spot.

The annual Halifax survey considers a number of measures.

Each district is ranked according to a range of factors including education, crime rates, pollution levels and employment.

Some methodological changes have resulted in some significant changes in the Quality of Life Survey rankings compared to 2016.

	2017 RANKINGS
Rank	Local authority District (LAD)	Region
1	Orkney Islands	Scotland
2	Wychavon	West Midlands
3	Derbyshire Dales	East Midlands
4	Hambleton	Yorkshire & the Humber
5	Purbeck	South West
6	South Cambridgeshire	East of England
7	Chiltern	South East
8	West Oxfordshire	South East
9	South Hams	South West
10	South Oxfordshire	South East
11	Tonbridge & Malling	South East
12	West Dorset	South West
13	South Northamptonshire	East Midlands
14	Waverley	South East
15	Shetland Islands	Scotland
16	Eden	North West
17	Malvern Hills	West Midlands
18	Mid Devon	South West
19	Rutland	East Midlands
20	Ryedale	Yorkshire & the Humber
21	Richmondshire	Yorkshire & the Humber
22	Uttlesford	East of England
23	Maldon	East of England
24	Monmouthshire	Wales
25	Babergh	East of England
26	Vale of White Horse	South West
27	Rushcliffe	East Midlands
28	Mid Sussex	South East
29	Wiltshire	South West
30	Harborough	East Midlands
31	East Hertfordshire	East of Endland
32	West Berkshire	South East
33	Aylesbury Vale	South East
34	North Kesteven	East Midlands
35	Selby	Yorkshire & the Humber
36	Suffolk Coastal	East of England
37	East Devon	South West
38	Newark & Sherwood	East Midlands
39	Craven	Yorkshire & the Humber
40	Tandridge	South East
41	Hinckley & Bosworth	East Midlands
42	New Forest	South East
43	Cotswold	South West
44	South Lakeland	North West
45	Broadland	East of England
46	Powys	Wales
47	Isles of Scilly	South West
48	Sedgemoor	South West
49	South Norfolk	East of England
50	Western Isles	Scotland
	Source: Halifax

Orkney's position as number one – having moved up from last year's 46th place – is just one of them.

The changes include adjustments to the ONS Personal Well-Being Survey – a component of the Index.

The index also includes two new categories – the number of pubs and the availability of health clubs and leisure centres.

Quality of life

Halifax economist Martin Ellis said: "The Orkneys offer a quality of life unmatched elsewhere in rural Britain."

"While the employment rate is significantly higher than the national average, there is more and more emphasis being placed on achieving a good work-life balance."

Wychavon ranked well with a high average life expectancies of 81.2 years (male) and 84.5 years (female).

It also scored well with 92% of all houses having superfast broadband, low CO2 emissions and a 79% employment rate.

Those in full-time employment typically enjoy high weekly average earnings at £609.

Adults in Wychavon also have a high level of life satisfaction.

Well-being

The Derbyshire Dales scored well well on personal well-being, with long male and female life expectancies.

The top 50 rural places to live include eleven districts in south-east, nine in the south-west and eight each in East Anglia and the East Midlands.

Mr Ellis said: "Rural areas in the south tend to receive higher ratings for weekly earnings, the weather, health, and life expectancy."

Meanwhile, top ranked rural areas in the north score well on education in terms of grades and smaller class sizes.

They also score well on lower house prices in relation to earnings, and both lower traffic flows and population densities