Best Places to Live Guide: Why Shrewsbury scores so high
Shrewsbury has been named as one of the best places to live in the country.
The town is the only location in Shropshire to make the Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide, it was revealed today.
It has ranked eighth in the Midlands region, and town clerk Helen Ball said the accolade came as no surprise.
“It goes without saying - it’s just validating what all of us who live and work here already know,” she said.
“We have a beautiful town, a great landscape, rich heritage, and the people all gel together. The quality of life is exceptional.
"When I go to other places, I have never found anywhere that I thought was better than Shrewsbury.
“People who come and visit come with no expectations but they always leave with a sense of wanting to come back. People come as a day visitor and end up ultimately moving here.”
Striking the perfect balance
Ms Ball said Shrewsbury’s secret was striking the perfect balance between the old and new, and offering “something for everyone”.
She added: “We are an hour from Manchester and Birmingham and have a direct rail link to London, but we are surrounded by beautiful countryside.
"We have Britain’s favourite market, we have always won Britain in Bloom, we are a Purple Flag town - all these things show we are doing something right.”
Her praise for the town was echoed by Dilwyn Jones, a director for Shrewsbury BID and Shrewsbury Tourism.
He said: “It has a nice mix, a good work-life balance. We are lucky to have lots of green spaces, even in the middle of town, and that is combined with great employment levels, its history, entertainment and lots to do and see.”
“We are pretty lucky in Shropshire, but Shrewsbury is a little bit more special. I have travelled all over the world but now I wouldn’t live anywhere else.”
