PEOPLE in Newport have hit out after the city was branded as the unhappiest place to live in Wales.

The Office for National Statistics revealed the city is the unhappiest after carrying out a survey which asked, ‘Overall, how happy did you feel yesterday?’, with ten as completely happy and 0 as not at all happy.

The average rating given by people in Newport was 7.24, with the Vale of Glamorgan coming out as the happiest place in Wales with a rating of 7.68.

But Sue Peel, a retired teacher who has lived in Newport all her life, said she would not want to live anywhere else.

“Newport is home and there is no where else I would like to live,” said the St Julian’s resident.

“It is a green city with lots of trees, parks, walks along the river and a nice shopping centre.

“The buildings are well-looked after and it is a place with an amazing history. There is lots to be positive about.”

Many shoppers said they were surprised by the figures, seeing Newport as a city which is improving. Several pointed to the Friars Walk shopping centre - which was recently named Best New Centre at the Revo Gold Awards - as a sign the city is on the up.

Lee Stallard, a senior underwriter at Monmouthshire Building Society in Newport, said: “Friars Walk has opened up a lot of potential.

“It was a bit dreary before then but now there are restaurants, cinemas and a good range of shops.

“I would say people are happier than they were a few years ago.”

Janet Lloyd, from Oakdale, Blackwood, called the figures ‘unfair.’

“I come to Newport if I ever need something special, it is the main shopping town that I use,” she added.

“I like the clothes shops here and Friars Walk has definitely improved the city centre.

“I don’t think it is the unhappiest place in Wales.”

Trader Christopher Baldwin, who runs the vintage clothes section at the Friends of St Anne’s Hospice charity shop, in Commercial Street, said he loves living in Newport.

“Newport has a world of heritage and culture,” said the 35-year-old, of Oakfield Road.

“I have been fortunate enough to have travelled throughout the UK and a lot further afield and am still proud to call Newport my home. 

“I love the city, it’s character and the potential it has to rejuvenate is so apparent. All you have to do is look at the small businesses that have successfully set up in recent days. Newport is very much on the way up.”

But some did say Newport is an unhappy place to live. 

Terry James, who volunteers at a charity shop in the city, said: “It is more like a town than a city.

“There are no stalls like in Cardiff and there is not much to see, people just walk straight through.”

Despite the low rating, it was marginally higher than last year’s 7.23. Caerphilly’s rating came out at 7.28, a fall from 7.41 last year. Blaenau Gwent fell from 7.36 to 7.35, while Torfaen remained at 7.30. People in Monmouthshire rated their happiness at 7.49 out of ten, a fall from 7.56. 

Na h-Eileanan Siar, in the Outer Hebrides, came out as the happiest place to live in the UK with a rating of 8.24, while East Northamptonshire came out as the unhappiest.