WATCH: Are you having a laugh? Wolverhampton ranked as one of most miserable places to live

People were urged to bang the drum for the city today, as it was labelled the least happy in the West Midlands.

Property website Rightmove ranked it at 102 out of 130 places in the country for happiness, while neighbouring areas like Walsall, Dudley and Telford fared better.

Dudley was still just below average, coming in at 70 out of 130. Walsall was 53rd and Birmingham 92nd.

Nearby Telford was happy at 28th and Shrewsbury was the second happiest place in the country.

Rightmove's survey of more than 24,000 people asked questions such as how proud they are of their home, whether they are satisfied with how it is decorated, how safe they feel in their community, whether they have enough living space, how friendly the neighbours are and whether they worry about the value of their property.

Peter Bilson, deputy leader of Wolverhampton council, said: "The vast majority of people enjoy living in Wolverhampton.

"We are a welcoming and friendly community that cares about each other.

"And we have seen a lot of things lately to show that the city is open for business, with cycle store Wiggle coming to Bilston, the development of the i10 building in the city centre and, of course, Jaguar Land Rover at the i54."

Rightmove ranked Harrogate first overall after coming out top for people feeling pride in where they live, as well as residents being happy with their area's upkeep and safe in their community.

Wolverhampton's low ranking in the poll came as no surprise, however, to the city's opposition Conservative leader Councillor Wendy Thompson.

She accused the council of being too negative about spending cuts.

She said: "The Labour administration running the council are constantly talking the place down by whining about the government.

"They do not do enough to talk up the things we have, the Grand Theatre for example, or some excellent schools such as the Girls' High, Highfields, St Peter's and many others."

Wolverhampton has dropped two places on last year's survey, however there were only 111 places then compared with 130 now.

Nowhere that has a shop selling nothing but desserts and milkshakes in its city centre can possibly be a miserable place. And the queues of people outside the Little Dessert Shop in Queen Street show it's quite the opposite – and that entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well.

Wolverhampton has a lot going for it, despite having been slapped hard by austerity and having struggled with the decline of major industries, such as steel, decades ago. But it is pulling itself up by its bootstraps at a rate of knots.

Add to that the major changes to the city centre, the new businesses opening up and the collective determination to regenerate, revive and re-invigorate Wolverhampton and we should have a place that, if it isn't happy right now, ought to be pretty soon.

Take Springfield Brewery, formerly a burned-out eyesore but now on the way to becoming a multi-million pound campus, for the next generation of construction experts. And Jaguar Land Rover's enormous engine plant at the i54 isn't the only show in town – the decision by cycle retailer Wiggle to take on the Citadel Building in Bilston means 600 new jobs.

Stoke on Trent was ranked at 11th in the poll.

Former mayor of Wolverhampton Phil Bateman said there was more to happiness than what Rightmove had measured.

He said: "Happiness is something that's within you. But we have a lot to be proud of anyway.

"We have 1,000 years of history and I know that in 100 years we'll still be here, with a growing city full of innovation and ideas, the very things have made us a great place to live."

Of course, Rightmove's survey is not the first time Wolverhampton has found itself labelled as a less than happy place to be.

In 2009 it was branded the fifth worst city in the world by the travel bible Lonely Planet.

Then in 2013 the influential Economist newspaper called for measures to revive the city's economy to be abandoned.

It said: "Wolverhampton looks the worst, having condemned parts of its town centre for a shopping mall that never came," in a reference to the abandoned plans for the £300 million Summer Row scheme.

But personal trainer Stefan Paszki, 34, from Bradmore, said he owed a lot to Wolverhampton. He said: "I am born and bred in Wolverhampton, without it I wouldn't have my job, any education or any of the medical attention I needed after being born at New Cross hospital.

"Growing up in Bradmore, there was a little bit of a community there, that does tend to change as you move towards the city centre but I would disagree that it is a miserable place to live."

Happiness appears to improve as people move away from the city towards Telford, via South Staffordshire.

South Staffs MP Gavin Williamson said: "Wolverhampton is a great city with a lot going for it. Between us we have the Jaguar Land Rover development creating thousands of jobs. We need to bang the drum for Wolverhampton and South Staffordshire because no-one else is going to do it for us."

Well, it is not the Wolverhampton we know and love.

Neither, really, do we see Dudley as only averagely happy.

Rightmove's survey concentrated a lot on people's views on their homes and what was on offer in their neighbourhood.

We are the first to admit that Wolverhampton, the Black Country and Staffordshire are not perfect.

It would be a thoroughly boring, saccharine existence if they were.

What we see and what we report on the pages of this newspaper is a rich tapestry of life.

Of course there are challenges.

But this has never been an area that wallows in self-pity.

It has always been at its best when it has pulled itself up by its boot straps and got to work, inventing, making and selling things the world over.

And Wolverhampton is not a city currently in the depths of despair or the grip of a recession.

It is growing again.

New businesses are opening. Existing ones are expanding and refurbishing.

There is work taking place to revive derelict sites.

Everyone is, of course, entitled to be sceptical.

We know as well as anyone the disappointments and frustrations that have beset Wolverhampton in recent years.

We are well aware of how many times we have seen impressive computer-generated images and grand plans for a new, multi-million-pound rail station that has, to date, not been built.

But we are also aware of a renewed sense of optimism that it is not that far away from getting started.

We watch with awe and delight as Jaguar Land Rover forges ahead to turn Wolverhampton back into an automotive powerhouse.

It is because this is an area that has lived through hard times, that it sometimes forgets to take immense pride in all that has been achieved.

We are, with celebrations such as Black Country Day, finally starting to see that addressed.

So we carry on with what we do best, working hard, because it is in striving for happiness that we actually find it.

We know a city and Black Country where the darkness of industry has led us into the light of success.

Ash Cooper, 26, from Wombourne, disagreed with the survey and said one of Wolverhampton's benefits was its multi-culturalism and sense of community spirit.

He said: "I always see people smiling and talking with one another in the city centre and I think the racial boundaries are non existent, which is great for the community.

"I have always felt safe in the city too, that has never been a concern for me."

However, Tony Norris, 53, from Bushbury, said that he felt people had become 'despondent' due to a lack of jobs.

He said: "I'm not working myself at the moment and I do think that people are becoming despondent because there really isn't that many jobs going in Wolverhampton. But it's not all bad."

Baroness Heyhoe Flint, vice president of Wolves, said she hoped fans would feel happy with the impending start of the new season.

And she urged people to get to know their neighbours and work with their communities to improve where they live.

"There are things we can all do to improve our lives and our happiness.

"There is always a need for olunteers.

"And there is always a need for more places for people to enjoy sport.

"You only have to look at Tettenhall Pool on a sunny day, a beautiful spot, and see how full it gets to see that people want to spend time enjoying life outdoors."

Another aspect took into consideration was amenities in different areas, which members of the public tended to agree that Wolverhampton was lacking in.

Sharon Ryal, 48, from Tettenhall, works at famous Wolverhampton landmark the Grand Theatre.

She said: "I think some parts of the city are down at the moment but most of the people I know aren't very miserable.

"Funds are being taken away from the arts so there isn't much to do in the city centre, that needs to be worked on."

Finchfield resident Jack Webb, who runs popular city centre pub the Dog and Doublet, said he sees a lot of pride in Wolverhampton amongst his regular customers.

He said: "People are always talking about the city in glowing terms.

"I wouldn't agree that it is a miserable place to live."

Walsall was considered a much happier place to live than Wolverhampton.

Walsall Council leader Mike Bird said: "There are a lot of things that contribute to someone's happiness.

"As far as we are concerned we want people to see the place is well looked after."

Dudley Council's leader Pete Lowe said he wanted to improve his borough's middle-of-the-table ranking.

Edward Dexter, 16, from Tettenhall, summed it up by saying: "Wolverhampton isn't the most miserable place to live in the West Midlands, not by a long way."