Elmbridge is the UK's happiest place

John Terry, the multimillionaire footballer, may have an extra reason to celebrate this week after being chosen as the new England captain, but he should already be a very happy man. Elmbridge in Surrey, home to his club Chelsea's training ground at Cobham, as well as to Terry and many of his team-mates, is officially the best place to live in Great Britain, according to a survey published today by Halifax Bank.

The survey of more than 400 local authorities concluded that Elmbridge offered the best quality of life on the basis of a range of criteria, including employment levels, average salaries, house prices, and the standard of local health and education services.

Nine of the top 10 happiest places in the country to live are in the South-east or East of England, with only East Dorset, in the South-west, breaking into the list from other parts of the UK. Elsewhere in the country, Hambleton is the happiest place in the North of England, ranked as the 51st best place to live, while Richmond-upon-Thames is London's highest-placed local authority. Scotland does not have a single entry in the list. Its highest-ranked authority is the Shetland Isles, at 114th.

Elmbridge scored particularly well for its high earnings - the average resident earns £1,112 a week - and a high rate of owner occupation. However, owners pay a high price for property - the average house price is £457,461, about £220,000 more than the average elsewhere in the South-east.

Mike Lockwood, the head of Elmbridge Borough Council, said: "Elmbridge is a borough where town meets country, offering a unique mix of towns and villages."