Somerfields QOLI unaffected by Co-op divvy -

Whilst undertaking some research on the Co-op / Somerfield deal our under - employed research department discovered this Somerfield press release on 11th March 2008.

Hart in Hampshire (on the River Hart - pop 87,500, 32,500 households) comes out top of Somerfield’s Quality of Life Index (QOLI) closely followed by Wokingham (in Berkshire) and Surrey Heath (in Surrey) in the unique study which examined factors including income, job security, health, fear of crime and debt.

Access to London is key for the QOLI , as all of the top 10 ranking local authorities are within 50 miles of central London and all of the top 20 are within 75 miles.

Coming top for job security and having the second highest average household income of £33,738 (44 per cent above the national average*) means Hart residents are financially very secure - they also have the highest life expectancy in the UK. Richmond-upon-Thames has the highest average household income of £35,019 - which is probably less than local celeb Mick Jagger's take home pay.

Hart's top position coincides with the second lowest fear of crime in the UK (after Isles of Scilly) and third place for good health.

Somerfield’s Quality of Life Index was compiled by exploring the individual differences between Britain’s towns and cities. This first-of-its-kind micro-examination of UK neighbourhoods was carried out by combining findings from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), TGI and MOSAIC types.

Wealth was measured by looking at individual income, health by total hospital admissions (more chance of being hit by a golf ball than stabbing by a hoody) and prevalence of good and bad health. Wokingham and Surrey Heath had the cleanest bill of health in the UK - and some damn fine golf courses. This was combined with other key indicators such as job security, examined by unemployment rate and concern of redundancy. Fear of crime and level of debt were also analysed to create a score for overall life satisfaction.

It's a fair bet that you won't find many Co-op stores thriving in these areas ... just a guess.



The chart - as Gemma Garrett says, just click to enlarge.