A thriving waterfront, picturesque parks, a mix of culture and sport – is it these things which have seen Ipswich named as one of the happiest places to live in Britain?

A survey published today has the town ranked third amongst historic cities York and Chester and just below the spa town of Harrogate, which claimed the top spot for the third year running.

The report was published by Rightmove and asked people how they felt about where they lived.

It based its findings on things like decor, amenities, value, pride and neighbourliness. There were 130 places included in the rankings

Ipswich mayor Glen Chisholm said it was a combination of all these things which meant the town was a great place to live.

“It’s the people which make the town great,” he said. “There are great people working in the background doing great community work, helping others and being quite selfless.”

Areas where the town scored highly included contentment and community (both 9th) and value and neighbourliness (both 6th).

Mr Chisholm also said the survey result was a great accolade for the town to get.

“We have got a great history and in my role as mayor I have started to see so much more of that.

“I was fortunate enough to host an exhibition at Christchurch Mansion of Constable work and we had people from all over the country coming here and they couldn’t believe we had this jewel of a park on our doorsteps.”

Rightmove also found that Dundee residents are happiest with how their home is decorated, while Blackpool residents are the most likely say they have plenty of space.

The seaside town of Torquay came top for people saying they are never stuck for recreational activities, compared with Paisley in Scotland which came bottom in this category.

House hunters on the lookout for friendly neighbours might want to search for a home in Llandrindod Wells - as the residents say that is where the most polite people live.

Norwich was ranked 37th, while Colchester, Cambridge and Peterborough came 62nd, 34th and 93rd respectively.