WOKINGHAM is top for the tots – and Lower Earley ain’t too shabby either.
Our historic market town has been crowned the best place for families to live in in England and Wales – the second time it’s received the award in the past five years.
The accolade takes into account the performance of local schools, its churches and its low crime rate. It also boasts higher than average salaries – £27,362 against the average of £21,982.
The honour was awarded by the creators of the Family Hotspots Report published earlier this week by modern mutual and specialist in family finances, OneFamily.
Now in its fifth year, the report aims to help families by revealing the best places to live in England and Wales by analysing everything from education, safety and childcare costs to local amenities, affordable property and green spaces.
Wokingham came out top for the whole of England and Wales once number crunchers had worked through more than 70 different sets of criteria for each postcode.
The research has also been used to create a Family Hotspots calculator, which can compare one area to another.
Councillor Philip Mirfin, mayor of Wokingham Town Council, said: “I am truly delighted that once again Wokingham has been named as the best place for families to live in the UK.
“We are very fortunate to enjoy excellent schools at every Key Stage, together with some beautiful open spaces and a safe town that has a genuine community spirit.
“We pride ourselves in the arts and culture we offer and this ranges from our May Cultural month through to family fun days, theatre in the park and large scale annual events such as the Food Festival, May Fayre and Winter Carnival.”
Second in the league was the village of Winscombe in Somerset, Oxfordshire market town Faringdon came third and in fifth place was Lower Earley.
Karl Elliott, spokesperson at OneFamily, said: “The report helps answer the key questions when you’re trying to find the right home, including, are we near the right school for our children? Is it safe? Do we have everything we want nearby?”
To see the report or try the calculator, log on to visit www.onefamily.com.
