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Last Updated: Monday, 6 June 2005, 08:42 GMT 09:42 UK
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'Clone towns' - outside London
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Researchers claim that nearly half of the UK's towns are "clones", with the same shops making High Streets indistinguishable from others round the country.
Here are the towns outside London included in the research by the think tank the New Economics Foundation, which divides towns into three groups: clone, border town, and home town - one which "retains its individual character and is instantly recognisable and distinctive".
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IS YOURS A CLONE TOWN OR A HOME TOWN?
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TOWN
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SCORE
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STATUS
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Exeter
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6.9
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clone
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Dumfries
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7.2
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clone
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Stafford
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7.3
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clone
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Middlesbrough
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8.5
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clone
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Weston-super-Mare
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10.6
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clone
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Winchester
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11.5
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clone
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Newport
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11.6
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clone
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Dorchester
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12.8
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clone
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Cheltenham
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13.1
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clone
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Burton on Trent
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13.3
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clone
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Scunthorpe
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13.6
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clone
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Newbury
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14.4
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clone
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St Helens
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15.3
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clone
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Exmouth
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16.1
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clone
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Grantham
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16.4
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clone
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Sittingbourne
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16.4
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clone
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Darlington
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16.5
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clone
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Haywards Heath
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16.6
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clone
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Halesowen
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16.9
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clone
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Barnsley
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17
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clone
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Huddersfield
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17.4
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clone
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Northwich
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17.9
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clone
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Maidstone
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18.7
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clone
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Farnham
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18.8
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clone
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Lancaster
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19
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clone
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Maidenhead
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19.1
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clone
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Scarborough
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19.8
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clone
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Woking
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20
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clone
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Wakefield
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20.2
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clone
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Falkirk
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20.3
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clone
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Guildford
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20.3
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clone
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Kendal
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20.9
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clone
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Grimsby
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21
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clone
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Hitchin
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22
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clone
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Bury St Edmunds
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22.5
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clone
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Stourbridge
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22.9
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clone
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Gloucester
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23.1
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clone
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Bishop`s Stortford
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23.3
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clone
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Devizes
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23.8
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clone
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Doncaster
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23.9
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clone
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Marlow
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24.1
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clone
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Haverford West
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24.5
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clone
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Burgess Hill
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25.6
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border
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Bathgate
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25.7
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border
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Kirkcaldy
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26.5
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border
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Rotherham
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26.6
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border
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Halifax
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26.7
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border
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Ashford
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27.4
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border
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Pontefract
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28.4
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border
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Torquay
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28.5
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border
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Market Harborough
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28.9
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border
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Nailsea
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28.9
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border
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Oxford
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28.9
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border
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Taunton
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29.3
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border
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Stone
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29.3
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border
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St Neots
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30.1
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border
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Castleford
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30.5
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border
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Thetford
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30.7
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border
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Selby
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31.8
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border
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Sherborne
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31.8
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border
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Wickford
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32.1
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border
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Harpenden
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32.1
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border
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Cowes
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32.8
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border
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Banstead
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33.6
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border
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Helensburgh
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34
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border
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Trowbridge
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34.2
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border
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Beverley
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34.4
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border
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Shirley
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34.4
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border
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Royston
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35
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border
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West Kirby
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35.4
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home
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Bangor
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36.2
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home
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Wellington
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36.4
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home
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Chesham
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36.6
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home
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Kilmarnock
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36.7
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home
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Monmouth
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37.5
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home
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Congleton
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38
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home
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Bridlington
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38.2
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home
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Nantwich
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39.1
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home
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Neston
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39.2
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home
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Swanage
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39.3
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home
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Whitley Bay
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39.6
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home
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Sandbach
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39.6
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home
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Minehead
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39.6
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home
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Wallingford
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39.9
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home
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St Peter Port
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40
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home
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Ware
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40.7
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home
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Castle Douglas
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40.8
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home
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Middlewich
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41.1
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home
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Bollington
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41.4
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home
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Wotton Under Edge
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42.3
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home
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Kirkham
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43
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home
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Alsager
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43.1
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home
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Crediton
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43.4
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home
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Gainsborough
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43.5
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home
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Lewes
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44.1
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home
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Great Malvern
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44.3
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home
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Hadleigh
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44.5
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home
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Emsworth
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45.2
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home
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Frodsham
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45.7
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home
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Normanton
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46.1
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home
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Bo'ness
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46.7
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home
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Peebles
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46.9
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home
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Hebden Bridge
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48.6
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home
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