With its broad, leafy street and stunning Victorian architecture it is no wonder that this street is the most expensive in Brighton and Hove.

But for the people who live in Montpelier Villas, Brighton, the news came as a surprise.

According to property website Mouseprice.com's 2009 Street Rankings, it is ninth in the top 20 most expensive streets in Sussex.

The average house in the street will set you back a cool £1,156,400 - last year it was £1,206,600.

Topping the list for Sussex is Wrens Warren in Chuck Hatch, near Hartfield, where the average house is worth a whopping £1,691,900.

The only other place in the city to make the top 20 is Tongdean Avenue, Hove, which came in at number 16, with an average house price of £1,016,400.

Glenys Stuart, 57, bought her house in the street 24 years ago and since then has seen its value rocket.

She said: “I bought it for £135,000 but I've just recently had it valued at £1.3 million.

“This is the most beautiful street in Brighton.

“I'm never going to move, not even for that. If the value keeps going up then I'm even happier to stay.”

Mrs Stuart's four-bedroom, two-bathroom house comes complete with a self-contained flat underneath.

But while living in a Grade-II listed building is nice, maintaining it is costly – every three or four years she spends about £15,000 to have the exterior repainted.

She is living the dream since she bought it as it was always an ambition to move there.

She said: “The houses are stunning. I can remember the first day I came to Brighton, I walked down the street and thought this is where I want to live.”

Mrs Stuart's house once belonged to television personality Gilbert Harding, whose many careers included schoolmaster, journalist, policeman, disc-jockey, interviewer and television presenter. He also appeared in several films, sometimes in character parts but usually as himself.

She often has people knocking at the door asking about him and the building's history.

She said: “There was a play about him in Brighton once and the cast came round to the house to look at it and get a feel for what it was like.”

Across the road, Angela Stewart moved into her house in 1984.

She said the road maintained its genteel charm because none of the houses had been converted into flats.

According to her, its next key asset after its architecture is the ample parking that is available – a luxury in modern-day Brighton.

She said: “I love living here. It's such a perfect-looking road with the houses matching and we are not a through-road so that keeps it quiet.

“It's a road where people come and stay for a long time. There are at least two other families who have lived here longer than us.

“It's really handy for getting into town and we are close to the beach.”

But like her neighbour she had no plans to move from the idyllic street.