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Rise of the urbanites

19th October 2005 | back to article listings BACK    print this article PRINT

Rise of the urbanites

Urban living in the north of England is set to see a massive renaissance over the next ten years says a report by international property consultant Knight Frank, in a report with huge implications for the buy to let sector.

The consultancy has tracked billions of pounds of investment poured into five northern cities over the past decade and says that the rejuvenation of formerly unloved city centres is "more successful than anyone could have imagined" only ten years ago.

"We estimate that to date there has been over £1.2 billion of residential development alone in the five big northern centres, Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield," said the report.

"Looking forward to planned development, this investment can be regarded as the tip of the iceberg. We estimate there will be a further three billion pounds invested in residential development over the next decade."

Between 1995 and 2005, over 16,000 city centre flats were added to Manchester, Liverpool, Leeds, Newcastle and Sheffield, with a further 36,000 predicted in the next ten years. The biggest increase is anticipated in Leeds where the city centre population is expected to grow from 9,000 to 20,000 by 2015.

Urban redevelopment spearheaded by young buy to let residents in affordable city centre apartments will soon give way to returning suburbanites as inner city neighbourhoods lose their association with crime and deprivation, Knight Frank claims, and congestion increasingly tangles commuter routes.

Developers are now incorporating convenience stores, creches and health centres into many new developments, building greater numbers of family friendly three and four bedroom apartments and concentrating on more town house rejuvenation, says the report.

"In essence, city living is growing up and has been more successful than anyone could have imagined a decade ago," head of Knight Frank's north of England residential operation Julian D'Arcy told the Yorkshire Post.

"City living will continue to grow in popularity, and developers are taking on board the need for better infrastructure, which will attract older people and families. Growing congestion levels in the suburbs makes a home in the city even more attractive.

"Billions of pounds of investment has flowed into Northern towns and cities which were struggling to find a new direction after years of industrial decline and in the space of 10 years a brand new living concept has been established," he added.

Asked why they chose inner city living, the majority of city residents told Knight Frank that they valued being close to their work places and social life. Low maintenance modern flats and secure developments were also appreciated. Most respondents said they missed green spaces and that they would value greater public transport investment, however.



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