The Isle of Dogs has been crowned as the Best Place to Live in London in this year’s Sunday Times list.
The unheralded corner of Docklands took the prize because of its transport links – a short walk from Canary Wharf and 15 minutes to the City – riverside location and affordable prices for Zone 2.
An average property here costs £526,160, compared with £636,215 for the capital as a whole.
Elsewhere, Salisbury was named the Best Place to Live in Britain overall thanks to its divine beauty, fronted by its 13th century cathedral.
The city has a thriving marketplace – with Nando’s in a medieval home and the Odeon cinema in a 15th-century building – and some of the best schools in the Southwest of England.
Shortly after the novichok poisonings in March 2018, the shops were empty, the tourists were staying away, and the locals were feeling uneasy.
Now there is a real optimism in the air – with plans announced last month to connect the whole city to full-fibre broadband, and the cafes are brimming. Genuine tourists are returning, not just to see one of the most glorious cathedrals in Britain, its grounds a scenic meeting point for dog walkers, picnickers and joggers, but to enjoy historic landscapes, crystal-clear streams and meadows dotted with sheep.
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide assesses a wide range of factors, from employment, schools and broadband speed to culture, community spirit and local shops, in order to compile the definitive top locations to live.
The methodology uses robust statistics, including exclusive, up to date house prices provided by Habito and TwentyCi, but also the knowledge of The Sunday Times’s expert panel. The judges combine the hard data with their own on-the-ground experience and insight to ensure the chosen locations truly are places where everyone can thrive.
Helen Davies, The Sunday Times Home editor said: “Finding our very own best place to live now feels more important than ever, for our wellbeing and wealth, happiness and health. Wherever you are on the property ladder The Sunday Times has championed 101 locations across the UK, and crowned one lucky winner, that we think is a great place to make a home.
“This year we were looking for community spirit along with convenience and culture. There is so much going on around the country, and so many great places that the choice was a hard one.”
Previous winners of the Best Places to Live in Britain title are: Stamford, Lincolnshire (2013); Skipton, North Yorkshire (2014); Newnham, Cambridge (2015); Winchester, Hampshire (2016); Bristol (2017) and York (2018).
The Sunday Times Best Places to Live: List of regional winners
Region | Winner | Starter | Mid-market | Family |
Britain (overall winner) | Salisbury, Southwest | £223,002 (£713 pcm) | £302,832 (£913 pcm) | £490,502 (£1,261 pcm) |
Greater London | Isle of Dogs, Tower Hamlets | £526,160 (£1,903 pcm) | n/a (£1,935 pcm) | n/a (£1,994 pcm) |
Midlands | Edale, Derbyshire | £300,000 n/a
| £575,000 n/a
| £462,500 n/a
|
North and Northeast | York, North Yorkshire | £146,900 (£645 pcm) | £221,615 (£825 pcm) | £350,910 (£995 pcm) |
Northwest | Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria | £204,700 (£575 pcm)
| £386,170 (£730 pcm) | £596,420 (£980 pcm)
|
Northern Ireland | Holywood, Co Down | £242,900 (£650 pcm) | £269,000 (£800 pcm) | £672,855 (£1,230 pcm) |
Scotland | Dundee | £110,390 (£570 pcm) | £159,510 (£790 pcm) | £265,932 (£950 pcm) |
Southeast | Petworth, West Sussex | £274,750 (£1,070 pcm) | £432,880 (£1,345 pcm) | £1,164,850 (£1,830 pcm) |
Southwest | Topsham, Devon | £222,678 (£806 pcm) | £336,571 (£1,127 pcm) | £553,958 (£1,323 pcm) |
The East | Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk | £196,759 (£737 pcm) | £308,485 (£1,012 pcm) | £469,646 (£1,342 pcm) |
Wales | Crickhowell, Powys | £60,000 (£550 pcm) | £85,598 (£663 pcm) | £412,322 (£839 pcm) |
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