MALVERN'S mayor says he feels lucky to live in Malvern after new figures showed it is the happiest place in Worcestershire.

Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows the results of a national survey carried out between April 2022 and March 2023, which asked people to rate their level of happiness.

The figures show people living in the Malvern Hills district scored higher on average (8.06 out of 10) than those in Worcester (7.5), Redditch (7.55), Bromsgrove (7.65), Wychavon (7.24) and Wyre Forest (7.71).

Mayor Clive Hooper said: “Malvern is a happy place. I’m delighted to hear the news that Malvern is the happiest place in Worcestershire.

“This reinforces previous national studies that have named Malvern as one of the best places to live.

“We are very fortunate to be living in such a wonderful location with the Malvern Hills surrounding us and a vibrant and engaging community.

“And this has come at a particularly good time as we start looking ahead to Christmas and all of the festivities there are taking place in the town.”

Harriett Baldwin, MP for West-Worcestershire, has constituents in both the Malvern Hills region and in Wychavon.

In response to the data, she said: “Having looked at the data in this study in detail, it is clear that people across Worcestershire are satisfied at where they live and the responses are higher than those who live in Birmingham or London.

“We are blessed with fantastic rural countryside, great culture, great schools, great communities and the ability to enjoy a more relaxed style of life so I am not surprised that people have reported to the Office for National Statistics that they are the happiest.”

In March, Malvern was named one of the coolest places to live in the UK by supplement brand Naturecan, which used criteria including how “Instagrammable” places were.

This year, the town has also been featured in the Sunday Times’ list of the Best Places to Live and in Muddy Stilettos’ best places to live in Worcestershire.