THE best place to live in the country – that’s the Hart District Council area.

The district has come top in a survey of the best places to live for the second year running.

With its open countryside and historic villages, such as Hartley Wintney and Odiham, Hart maintained its number one spot on the Halifax Quality of Life Survey.

The area scored well in almost all categories, such as its employment rate, health of its population, life expectancy and low crime rates.

However, house prices in Hart are 6.7 times higher than the average annual local income, much higher than the UK average of 5.4.

Martin Ellis, economist at high street bank Halifax, said: “While not necessarily being the leading district across all measures, Hart comes on top because it scores consistently highly across nearly all indicators.”

He said this included “high-quality schooling”.

Councillor Ken Crookes, leader of Hart District Council, was pleased with the result.

He told The Gazette: “It was a pleasant surprise.

“I thought Elmbridge, that has been top previously, might have slipped past us again, but no.

“A lot of this is not down to the district council. It goes down to our employers, some very good voluntary groups, and some excellent public sector partners.

“It’s all of these factors that make Hart a good place to live.”