Fleet is now officially the best place to live in Britain

Fleet residents already know this but now its official – Hart is the best place to live in Britain.

The latest Halifax Quality of Life Survey puts our borough top of the national list thanks to our employment, education, health, wellbeing and climate.

The annual study found that 95 per cent of us are in good health. Life expectancy for men is 81.7 years – well above the national average of 78.

We tend to enjoy incomes at 40 per cent above the UK average, with almost three-quarters of those of us aged between 16 and 64 in work, earning a weekly average of £841.

Our crime levels are the lowest in Hampshire and our attractions include more than 1,000 listed buildings, and Fleet Pond – at 52 acres Hampshire's largest freshwater lake.

Hart is a mixture of countryside and urban, with a picturesque combination of towns, like Fleet and Yateley, and historic villages like Odiham and Hartley Wintney and Hook, as well as a number of smaller rural places. This all affected our ranking.

We get less rain in a year, compared to the national average, and some three hours more sunshine a week than other parts of the country.

The survey also found that 91 per cent of us get a good level of access to broadband, compared to an average of 82 per cent for the rest of the country.

Fleet's traditional high street with independent shops, pubs and cafes alongside the main chains and supermarkets were also taken into consideration, along with standards in Hart's schools.

Number two on the survey is Elmbridge in Surrey, which we've pushed from the top slot where it sat for the past two years.

The top 30 in the list are:

1 Hart, Hampshire

2 Elmbridge, Surrey

3 Wokingham, Berkshire

4 East Cambridgeshire

5 Brentwood, Essex

6 Wychavon, Worcestershire

7 St Albans, Hertfordshire

8 Maidstone, Kent

9 South Cambridgeshire

10 Epsom and Ewell, Surrey

11 Richmond upon Thames, London

12 Tunbridge Wells, Kent

13 East Hertfordshire

14 Waverley, Surrey

15 Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire

16 Rushcliffe, Nottinghamshire

17 Guildford, Surrey

18 Uttlesford, Essex

19 Bracknell Forest, Berkshire

20 North Hertfordshire

21 Hertsmere, Hertfordshire

22 Rutland

23 Wycombe, Buckinghamshire

24 Rochford, Essex

25 Mole Valley, Surrey

26 Chiltern, Buckinghamshire

27 Ashford, Kent

28 Colchester, Essex

29 Winchester, Hampshire

30 Kingston upon Thames, London