Manchester was revealed as being perceived as one of the most unsafe places to live in Britain last week, yet the survey has been slammed by police.
Greater Manchester Police are rejecting the figures which revealed the city to be 19th from bottom in perception of crime and safety.
The same survey, conducted by property website Rightmove, also put Stockport as the second happiest place to live in the country.
They asked nearly 40,000 homeowners across the 110 UK cities how they feel about the place they call home.
A Greater Manchester Police spokeswoman said: “I would like to state the survey carried out by Right Move is a commercial venture and not reflective of the British Crime Survey which is carried out by the Home Office.”
Opposing results come from a recent Home Office survey of more than 20,000 people from the Greater Manchester community.
It revealed that 90% think police in the borough are doing a good job and 94% have confidence in officers and staff.
“This is an incredible result and shows that the hard work to reduce crime and bring people to justice is making a difference and it is the community of Greater Manchester that is reaping the benefits,” said the spokeswoman.
“Noticeably only 3% of those surveyed witnessed high levels of antisocial behaviour, this again shows that the on-going work of the neighbourhood policing teams and police partners to tackle the root of the problem is paying off.”
The original Rightmove survey asked participants to think about where they live based on 12 separate measures concerning their perceptions towards their property, home and community.
Stockport narrowly missed out on clinching top place to the spa-town of Harrogate, but the city has climbed the tables from last year where it only ranked 27th.
Leader of Stockport Council, Councillor Sue Derbyshire said: “Stockport is a fantastic place to live, work and visit. It came as no surprise to me whatsoever to see that Stockport had been rated as the second happiest place in Britain to live.”
Respondents rated Stockport high across all 12 areas with the city ranking third overall for décor and pride and fifth for well-being.
Councillor Derbyshire said: “Residents wellbeing and happiness is a key Council priority and it is very encouraging to see Stockport feature so highly in this survey.”
She added that the city’s thriving business community, transport links and high quality education as well has exceptional tourist attractions including Bramall Hall and the historic market have greatly contributed to making Stockport a happy place to live.
The study also reveals that Northerners are overall happier with where they live than Southerners.
Rightmove director Miles Shipside said: “While many property market and economic reports make much of the so-called north-south divide, these findings buck that particular trend and show that those living in the North are happier than those in the South.”
Residents in Manchester and Oldham aren’t as happy as their Stockport neighbours with the cities coming in at 83rd and 95th.
Other cities from Greater Manchester that featured in the survey were Bolton which came 14th overall and Wigan which came 89th.
East London was named the unhappiest place in the UK and notable nine out of the bottom 10 unhappiest places to live were in Greater London.
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