The Sunday Times Best Places to Live Guide 2023: The Yorkshire locations that only just missed out - and why York and Whitby weren't included

The Yorkshire Post spoke exclusively to Guide editor Tim Palmer about the towns and cities that nearly made it into the Guide – and why some desirable postcodes don’t merit inclusion.

The nearly theres

"Wetherby is well-connected and has an independent cinema. It’s on the up. Almost anywhere in West Yorkshire is great now. With cheaper house prices than in posh North Yorkshire, you get more interesting people moving in. Halifax has improved a lot – the Piece Hall is fantastic and there is a real local culture there now. Otley is a bit overshadowed by Ilkley, but it’s up and coming and there are three greengrocers now, so at least you can get a tomato when the supermarkets run out! West Yorkshire’s rise has been one of the stories of the past five years of the Guide.

"Beverley is always on our radar and has featured before, but we feel like we’ve said all there is to say about it at the moment. The Wolds and towns like Driffield are still good value and very attractive, an alternative to the North York Moors.

"We haven’t featured the Moors as we can’t identify that one place that stands out. Pickering is somewhere we’re keeping an eye on, but in that area in general, the connectivity isn’t great.

"We’d also like to look at the top of the Moors, the area around Stokesley and Yarm towards Teesside – what used to be the Middlesbrough FC footballer belt!"

Why York gets the boot

Perennial favourite York dropped out of the Guide in 2022 for the first time in years, and Tim is in no hurry to re-admit it.

"I’m not rushing to put it back in. It’s expensive,and you have to make sure you get good value for your money. It is now so crowded and pressurised, and there has been huge growth in Airbnbs. It’s a bit like Edinburgh now, all tourism and international money. It doesn’t benefit residents.”

Why the Yorkshire coast misses out

Tim is often asked why seaside towns such as Whitby and Scarborough, with booming property markets, are never chosen for the Guide.

"With the current issues over the marine species die-offs, we didn't feel like we could include that stretch of coast until the cause has been identified. It’s depressing to think you could be living in a toxic waste dump (the crab and lobster deaths have been blamed on dredging in the Tees Estuary, but a government investigation has denied this).

"The thing is, Whitby and Scarborough are hard to get to, they’re a long way from other places. If you’ve got somewhere like that, they’ve got to be exceptional.”