Santa set to be busiest in Manchester's Trafford this Christmas
6th December 2016
- Zoopla’s Santa Sleigh Stop Index reveals the top 10 areas in England where Father Christmas will be busiest this year
- Index analyses children’s school exam results, crime figures and property density
- Richmond-upon-Thames and Sutton take second and third place thanks to hard-working pupils
- Streets containing ‘Dancer’, ‘Donkey’ and ‘Christmas’ are the most expensive festive street names in Britain
Father Christmas is set to be busiest when his sleigh lands in Trafford this Christmas Eve, according to Zoopla’s Santa Sleigh Stop Index. Research from the property website has established which local authorities are top of his ‘nice list,’ with the Greater Manchester borough on track to be particularly happy following Santa’s visit this year.
Zoopla analysed the number of properties per area, the performance of local schools and crime levels to create the Santa Sleigh Stop Index, identifying the areas of England most likely to keep Saint Nick and his little helpers on their toes this year. Residents in Richmond-upon-Thames should be prepared to leave out plenty of sherry and mince pies on December 24th as they come second on the list, while fellow London borough, Sutton, should stock up on extra carrots for Rudolph as it follows in third place. Children from those three local authorities are likely being rewarded for their hard work at school as Trafford, Richmond-upon-Thames and Sutton also top the list for the best exam results in England.
Although Santa will be spending most of his time in the capital, the metropolitan borough of the Wirral is one of just two northern local authorities to feature in the top 10, where its high property count provides lots of chimneys for Santa to shimmy down. The Wirral not only takes the 10th spot, but it also boasts the cheapest average property value within the top 10, with the average property worth £230,847.
While local authorities in central Birmingham and Leeds top the list for property density, they also have the highest crime rates in the country. Featuring on Santa’s ‘naughty list’ these cities might only receive a fleeting visit from Father Christmas, as they’re placed at 18th and 115th on the Index respectively.
Zoopla also analysed the value of Britain’s Christmas-themed street names and found that those featuring the reindeer ‘Dancer’ proved to be the most expensive, with average properties valued at £788,987. Roads with ‘Donkey’ or ‘Christmas’ in the name complete the top three priciest festive streets, with average properties valued at £562,599, and £466,141 respectively.
Lawrence Hall, spokesperson for Zoopla comments: “Whilst our Santa Sleigh Stop Index is a bit of festive fun, it is interesting to see which parts of the country are set to keep Santa busy this Christmas. Who knows, perhaps Santa Claus himself will be consulting Zoopla’s property information and its site tools such as ‘Travel Time Search’ to plan his route this year.”
Top 10 areas where Santa will be busiest this year
| Ranking | Local Authority | Average Property Price | Crime Index Score | Population Index Score | Schools Index Score | Number of Properties Index* Score | Overall Index Score |
| 1 | Trafford | £326,667 | 9.1 | 6.6 | 8.6 | 2.4 | 6.7 |
| 2 | Richmond-upon- Thames | £934,620 | 9.2 | 6.4 | 8.4 | 1.7 | 6.4 |
| 3 | Sutton | £478,238 | 9.0 | 6.4 | 8.1 | 1.8 | 6.3 |
| 4 | Redbridge | £555,012 | 7.3 | 8.0 | 7.8 | 2.2 | 6.3 |
| 5 | St Albans | £601,070 | 9.6 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 1.3 | 6.3 |
| 6 | Slough | £403,853 | 8.7 | 8.8 | 6.0 | 1.4 | 6.2 |
| 7 | Wokingham | £543,210 | 9.6 | 6.6 | 7.4 | 1.2 | 6.2 |
| 8 | Aylesbury Vale | £400,997 | 9.5 | 6.7 | 7.0 | 1.6 | 6.2 |
| 9 | Barnet | £691,716 | 7.5 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 3.0 | 6.2 |
| 10 | Wirral | £230,847 | 9.2 | 5.6 | 5.3 | 4.7 | 6.2 |
- Source: Zoopla, December 2016
Top 10 most expensive festive street names in Britain
| Ranking | Street name keyword | Average property value |
| 1 | Dancer | £788,879 |
| 2 | Donkey | £562,599 |
| 3 | Christmas | £466,141 |
| 4 | Star | £423,621 |
| 5 | Noel | £423,502 |
| 6 | Rudolph | £416,399 |
| 7 | Snow | £411,977 |
| 8 | Bow | £373,767 |
| 9 | Stocking | £362,386 |
| 10 | Christ | £359,623 |
- Source: Zoopla, December 2016
- Ends -
For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
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