The city where Skripals were poisoned and Dawn Sturgess died had shown ‘real collective spirit’, says judge

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

The city where a former Russian spy and his daughter were poisoned in a nerve agent attack has been named the best place to live in the UK.

Salisbury took the title in the Sunday Times 2019 list (£).

One of the judges said the city in Wiltshire had earned the accolade on the Sunday Times 2019 list (£) because it had shown a “real collective spirit” in the wake of the poisonings that brought it to global attention a little over a year ago.

Ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia survived the novichok attack, which has been blamed on the Russian GRU intelligence agency, although the country has denied involvement.

The incident later killed Dawn Sturgess, who died after coming into contact with a perfume bottle believed to have been used in the attack on the Skripals before being discarded.

‘The whole world knows us’: Salisbury one year on from novichok attack Read more

Helen Davies, the Sunday Times home editor, said: “Salisbury has shown real collective spirit in dealing with a chemical attack that saw the cathedral city become the centre of world headlines for all the wrong reasons.

“There are still parts of the city where the clean-up continues, but to bounce back and be even stronger is a sure sign of a very special community, which is one of the reasons we have chosen Salisbury as the best place to live in Britain in 2019.

“It remains a divinely attractive and welcoming place. It’s handy for coast, countryside and London, has some of the best schools in the south-west, a great market and it’s very strong culturally, too.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The Skripals’ home in Salisbury, sealed off one year on from the poisoning. Photograph: Sam Frost/The Guardian

The Isle of Dogs in the borough of Tower Hamlets was named the best place to live in Greater London, Dundee the top place to live in Scotland, Crickhowell in Powys was judged the cream of the crop in Wales, while Holywood in County Down came out in front for Northern Ireland.

The judging panel used their own knowledge alongside statistics, including house prices.

Previous winners of the top title include York last year, Bristol in 2017 and Hampshire in 2016.