Look local: Reading tops the list

Reading is the largest town in the UK without city status, topping the list above Dudley in the West Midlands, and its world-famous festival attracts around 100,000 people to the town every year. Home to many famous individuals throughout the years, the town’s diverse population are proud its storied history.

‘Reading has a very cosmopolitan and diverse clientele,’ says Don Watts, retail director at Specsavers in Reading. ‘In addition to being the hub of England’s silicon valley, we think of Reading as a microcosm of nationalities.’

Opened in 1985, Watts’ is one of the oldest Specsavers stores in the country, with Ravi Bhardwaj, Watts’ optometrist partner, being the first ever optometrist to be employed by the multiple.