Stockport ranks among North-west’s Best Places to Live in Sunday Times list

Stockport has been hailed as one of the North-west’s seven Best Places to Live in the annual Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide.

The annual list ranked Liverpool as the top location in the region, but also praised Stockport among 72 towns and cities across Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Sussex market town of Wadhurst was secured the overall top-spot in the list.

The Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide praised Stockport for its abundance of green spaces, high quality housing, and fast broadband speeds, while also recognising its upward trajectory as a destination.

In their profile, the paper described the town as “turning itself from a standard former mill town into a funky, family-friendly alternative to Manchester’s Northern Quarter.” The town’s leisure options including the Light Cinema, town centre cocktail bar, Cherry Jam, and independent food and drink businesses at Stockport Market and throughout the borough were all praised as highlights for residents to take advantage of.

The Sunday Times, also recognised Stockport as a town on the up, highlighting the council’s ambitious £1 billion regeneration plans for the town centre, including its Transport Interchange, Stockport Exchange business district and urban living at Weir Mill all currently being developed.

Alongside Stockport and top destination, Liverpool, five other towns and cities in the North-west were also included in the Best Places to Live 2023 Guide: Ancoats and Sale in Greater Manchester, Tarporley in Cheshire, Rawtenstall in Lancashire, and Penrith in Cumbria.

Sponsored by Halifax, which provided average house prices for each location, the Sunday Times Best Places to Live guide, is now in its 11th year. The Sunday Times’ expert judges have visited all the locations and assessed factors from schools to transport, broadband speeds to culture, as well as access to green spaces and the health of the high street.

Helen Davies, the editor of Best Places to Live 2023, said:

“When times are tough, where we live matters more than ever. Attractive surroundings, good neighbours and a comfortable home are the best defences when the stresses of modern life seem overwhelming. 

“This guide is a celebration of towns, cities and villages that are each a fantastic place to live in 2023 from Orkney to Felixstowe, the Chew Valley to Manchester city centre. Whether you’re downsizing, trading up or getting onto the property ladder, there will be somewhere to suit you.” 

The full guide is published online here, with an abridged version included as a magazine supplement in the 26th March edition of the Sunday Times newspaper.