A staunchly Conservative borough, Surrey Heath returned only two Labour seats in the 2007 by-elections. As befits its Green Belt location, Surrey Heath is a paradise for naturalists - home to no less than five sites of special scientific interest, several rare birds make their home here.
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Surrey Heath, or Sunny Heath as it should be called due to the extra 200 hours of sunshine it gets a year, has made it onto our list as a good all-rounder. The only dark (or toxic) cloud on the horizon here is the carbon emissions. Homes here have the third worst levels of emissions in the country.
At odds with this environmental image is Surrey Heath's carbon footprint, which was the third highest in the country in 2006, according to British Gas.
These same carbon emissions ironically come mostly from the urbanised western portion of the borough which has made such a big contribution to Surrey Heath's position at number six in our chart. While not brilliantly green, these are great places to live. Camberley, Lightwater, Deepcut, Frimley, Frimley Green and Mytchett all come highly recommended.
Camberley is the immediate area's largest town, and for those looking at a 2008 move, offers the tempting prospect of the Atrium development. A long time in the planning, 217 high-concept apartments will sit side by side with fourteen new retail units, a 900 space car park and leisure facilities. These are set to include a multiplex cinema, bowling lanes, a health club, coffee shops and restaurants, in a design-led living environment intended to attract wealthy professionals.
Whether you believe small or large schools are the more beneficial for young people, parents will be spoiled for choice in Camberley. With over 2,000 pupils, Collingwood College is one of the region's biggest, while high-achieving Gordon's School has just over 500 pupils and one tenth national average levels of truancy.
Unusually for our prestigious 20 Best Places, you can still pick up a semi-detached house in Camberley for only £50,000 more than the average UK price for this type of property. This makes Camberley a real bargain in the generally more expensive south.
Not that you should ignore the rest of Surrey Heath - overlook Bagshot Rural District at your peril. This enchanting area can count the villages of Lightwater, West End, Chobham and the distinctly Tolkien-esque Bagshot among its charms. For village living with modern amenities within relatively easy reach, hurry to Surrey Heath.
<< Go back to the index to learn about more places in the top and bottom 20
Have your say and see what other people are saying about Surrey Heath and the other 433 UK boroughs >>
Find out which lucky boroughs made the top 5 in 2007 >>
Local area info on Surrey Heath from upmystreet.com >>
Surrey Heath Borough Council >>
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