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FEELING TOWN
We live in UK’s ‘unhappiest’ town – it used to be nice but now it’s dull and boring… we still won’t leave
RESIDENTS living in the UK's "unhappiest town" say it used to be nice - but it's now dull and boring.
Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire is world-famous for its pork pies - but is proving unsavoury for residents after it was named the worst place to live in Britain.
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The borough surrounding the town was ranked 393rd of 393 local authorities for happiness, anxiety levels and life satisfaction, according to .
But even with the poor ratings, residents don't want to leave.
Coffee shop owner Donna Bell, 39, said: "I agree sadly but wholeheartedly with that survey.
"Melton is dull and boring. It’s lost its charm and there are not as many visitors as there used to be.
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"There are 18 coffee shops in Melton. Yes, I’m one of them - but that's all there is to do.
"They need to bring something new to town.
The mum-of-three said: "The kids get bored because there are no youth clubs or many activities although my son does a bit of boxing.
“But I’ve always lived here and probably won't move.”
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Her fiance Gary Somers, 59, said: "It’s an OK place in the day but all the idiots come out at night.
"Bus services have been cut, and not one bus goes directly from Nottingham to Melton.
"There’s not enough for the youngsters or the oldies to do."
Local David, 59, said: "Melton used to be nice. It was a desirable place but now it’s a dump.
"The parking is terrible and people are just not coming into town any more.
"There’s no police patrols and there’s a lot of drugs here for a small town.
"I feel sorry for the kids, there’s not enough for then to do and some turn to drugs and crime.
"It's not the kids’ fault. There’s just nothing good happening in Melton."
David said that gangs of youths loiter around a "notorious council estate on the Nottingham Road dubbed Colditz".
He added: "If you’re sick you have to wait six weeks for a surgery appointment.
"Then when you get one they call you on the day saying it’s been cancelled and can only do a phone consultation.
"That doesn’t help with people’s health and well being."
Kayleigh, 30, said: "There are a couple of nice pubs like the Anne of Cleves but no decent restaurants or meeting places and nothing to keep the teenagers off the streets.
"It’s just lots of coffee shops and one clothes shop.
"It’s very different now, and like many towns it has its rough places like the Colditz estate."
Carole Perkins said: "Melton is not like it used to be, it has gone downhill.
"You can’t buy any decent clothes here, it’s only coffee shops, charity and vape shops now.
"You have to go into Nottingham or Leicester if you want to buy anything.
"I totally agree with the survey and when I read it in the local paper I wasn’t surprised."
The ONS has recorded figures on measures of wellbeing since 2011, asking people each year to rank out of ten their feelings of anxiety, happiness, life satisfaction and whether things being done are worthwhile.
People from Melton provided average scores of 2.9 for anxiety, 7.2 for happiness, seven for life satisfaction and 7.6 for things being worthwhile - lower overall than any other local authority area.
Melton's average life satisfaction figure of 7.03 was in contrast to top-scoring High Peak in Derbyshire on 8.34, followed by Torridge in Devon on 8.25 and Richmond in North Yorkshire on 8.16.
The survey also found 5.4% of people across the UK rated their overall life satisfaction as "low", up from 4.5% a year earlier.
But one resident still in Melton is Marcelle Fowkes, 66, who moved to Melton 17 years ago from Doncaster in South Yorkshire.
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She said: "There are a lot of negative things being said about Melton with complaints that it is all coffee and charity shops.
"But I think Melton has a lot going for it - and every High Street across the country has gone downhill."
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