Safety in Numbers : The UK's Safest Places and Why

When it comes to choosing a location and a building to live in, safety is often a deal-breaker. So just where are the safest places in the UK?

What makes a city the perfect place to live?

A welcoming, inclusive community? Bustling nightlife? Close to parks and countryside? The list continues, but if we’re honest, there is no one correct answer. Different factors matter to different people. One factor I’m sure we can all agree on, however, is that we want to feel safe. Safe in our home. Safe on the streets. Safe in our community.

This article will take information from The Unbroken Britain Report which surveyed the British public to reveal the cities and towns which are the safest, and what factors contribute to the level of safety and community…

Unbroken Britain

?When given the chance, many people will sing their city’s praises. On the other hand, many will not. Perhaps this has to do with the age of the person you ask? Or maybe it’s just unanimous across the board.

As a way of recording people’s opinions, for the past few years, sub-prime lender Provident Financial PLC has published a report entitled ‘Unbroken Britain’ which ranks participating cities from best to worst in categories such as happiness, trust, politeness and of course, safety. The latest report, which was released in October 2018, surveyed a total of 2,702 Brits to see just what they had to say about the place they call home...

The Top 5

As voted by the residents who live there, here are the TOP 5 safest cities to live in the UK:

1. Aberystwyth: Wales coming in at number 1. In terms of population, this western, coastal city is the 25th largest in Wales – Does the fact it is a relatively small community contribute to its safety?
2. Worcester: Not much springs to mind when you think of this city – Does this speak volumes about its safety ranking?
3. Newcastle: Does this surprise you at all? The ‘capital’ city of the North East ranks at number 3.
4. Aberdeen: Not as far north as you can go, but pretty close to it – Does the rural location of this city make it safer?
5. Wrexham: Wales ranking for the second time, this time for its 4th largest city - Is there something in the water in Wales?

Want to know which cities make up the rest of the ranks? Follow this link to the full report.

What Makes a City Safe?

So what exactly makes a city safe then?

If we are going to explore the answer to the question above, we may as well use the example of the UK’s safest city to illustrate - Aberystwyth.

Of course, the first thing that springs to mind when concluding how safe somewhere is and fundamentally, the only factor which truly matters to safety, is crime levels - The type of crime and the rate at which those crimes are occurring. According to Police.UK statistics, there was a total of 1,739 reported crimes which took place in Aberystwyth in 2018. The type of crime with the highest number of offences? ‘Violence and sexual offences’ with 486 reported cases. ‘Anti-social behaviour’ (484) and ‘criminal damage and arson’ (195) rank at 2nd and 3rd. In last place is ‘robbery’ with a mere 5 offences reported.

However, looking at numbers and statistics on a page can be hard to quantify sometimes. Unless we compare to other cities, we cannot really come to any conclusions. Yet, comparison rarely makes any concrete sense either as the size of a city, the population and demographics may be completely different to each other.

In reality, what truly makes a city safe is the feeling that you are. The feeling that you are part of a community.

Does Safety Come at a Price?

When it comes to buying or renting a property, is picking a safe community a priority?

For most, the answer is yes. For many, this is unfortunately not their choice. Of course, it is not feasible for everyone to be able to live in the safest cities and communities as there are simply not enough properties, but it is also not feasible for everyone to afford the cost of living in the safest cities and communities.

Whilst a city may not be classed as the safest place to live, that does not mean that every location in that city is unsafe. Most cities have towns or villages within / neighbouring them that are considered generally safe areas to live, but are these areas affordable? Most likely not. In perspective when compared to more costly places to live however, these areas may be considered somewhat cheap but to a prospective buyer looking to purchase or rent their first home, this could once again mean that they are priced out of the area. An area which may be the place they have called home their entire lives. They are essentially priced out of safety.

Are there any cities where this isn’t the case though? A city that is classed as unsafe but still regularly out prices many people wishing to live there? You guessed it - London.

Whilst it is true that London is not the city with the highest crime rates in the UK, nor is it the most expensive city to live in but statistics from the Unbroken Britain report have it ranking at the bottom of the list for safest places. It is also, rather unsurprisingly, the city that is home to the top 10 most expensive streets to buy a property on.

Why is this? It’s simple, it is the nation’s capital...

London : Where Can We Go from Here?

London may be home to many of us, but sadly, its at the bottom of more than one list on the report. Whilst it does sit at the top of many other lists and boasts many cultural positives, like its presence in the top 10 world museums / galleries, or the fact there is more live comedy on show than any other city in the world, there is no questioning that the capital has a long way to go.

As the CEO and Founder of Nirvana; of one of London’s leading property maintenance companies in the block living sector, I cannot help but think what we can do improve and make the city a safer community for residents and visitors.

Before we begin to tackle the situation we have at hand here, we need to raise the question of why - Why is London considered the most unsafe place to live in the UK? If we assume it is down to crime, then why is there such a high level of crime being committed within the city? Do rates of unemployment, homelessness and inflation go some way to contributing to this? The list of questions could be endless.

I may not exactly be in a position where I can begin to answer these questions myself, but I feel that creating and opening up this topic as a conversation could at least be a good place to start!

I am Darren Waitson, CEO & Founder at Nirvana Maintenance, experts in property maintenance including fire defence and electrical maintenance.