Top five urban regeneration hotspots

As activity in the housing market slows, areas undergoing regeneration can be a good bet for property investors and home buyers.

Urban regeneration often triggers rising demand for housing as locations become more desirable places in which to live, which in turn attracts new businesses, according to Seven Capital.

“Developments such as new train stations, shopping centres, leisure facilities and mixed-use commercial spaces directly provide a better lifestyle, which in turn attracts new residents.

“This effect can then ripple outwards, attracting new businesses which support a higher-paid workforce and thus, increase demand for residential living nearby,” the group said.

Seven Capital has identified five locations that are seeing above-average regeneration, which will not only transform them into desirable places to live and work, but could also boost property values.

Derby

The Derby City Centre Masterplan is an ambitious regeneration scheme to deliver new retail, leisure and residential developments across the city.

Scheduled for competition in 2030, it aims to leverage £3.5 billion of investment to create 1,900 new homes and 4,000 jobs, as well as a hi-tech business park.

Meanwhile, the city’s Local Plan will see 11,000 new homes and more than 100,000sqm of office space built by 2028 in a bid to attract new employers to the city.

Derby is also poised to benefit from improved transport links through High Speed 2 (HS2), with the rail project putting it less than an hour away from London and within around 30 minutes of Birmingham.

These new amenities, employment opportunities and transport links are expected to lead to significant population growth in the city, leading to higher property demand, with Seven Capital predicting house prices could rise by 24% by 2025.

Birmingham

The UK’s second city has already benefited from a number of regeneration schemes in the past two decades, including the Bullring, New Street Station and Grand Central.

Birmingham is now focusing on the West Midlands Metro tram extension, which will create new transport links across the city.

Seven Capital expects the project to lead to a 6% increase in house prices in areas that will benefit from the increased connectivity.

Meanwhile the Paradise and Snowhill developments bring new office space and homes, while Digbeth is continuing to undergo regeneration, including the £1.5 billion Birmingham Smithfield development to create a mix of commercial space, offices, homes and public areas.

Birmingham is also set to be a significant beneficiary of HS2, which will cut the journey time to London to just 52 minutes.

Leeds

Leeds is already one of the fastest growing cities in the UK, and its appeal looks set to continue thanks to a number of regeneration projects.

Following on from the revamp of Leeds City Station, a £270 million development project is set to see the city’s Lisbon Square area transformed into a 2.8 hectare site that includes apartments, hotels and mixed-use office space.

Not only will it double the size of the city centre, but it is also expected to help boost the local economy.

At the same time, £8.6 million is set to be spent transforming road space into green space under the City Park scheme, while £7.4 billion will go towards expanding Temple Green Park and Ride, and £2.6 billion will be spent renovating older properties in the Holbeck area of the city.

Slough

Already a popular destination for London commuters, Slough is set to benefit from £3 billion of redevelopment cash.

The Heart of Slough project will see the former Thames Valley University land transformed into new homes, commercial space, retail and leisure facilities.

The town already boasts The Curve, a new theatre and library, as well as several new sports and leisure facilities, including an ice rink.

Meanwhile, plans are in place to transform the old Queensmere Shopping Centre into 1,600 new homes, as well as 12,000sqm of retail space and 40,000sqm of office space.

At the same time, the newly completed development The Metalworks offers homes less than 200 metres from a Crossrail station.

Bracknell

Bracknell has seen a number of regeneration projects during the past 10 years as the popularity of the town increases.

The £770 million Bracknell Town Centre Vision 2032 has already seen the creation of retail and leisure complex The Lexicon.

Future redevelopment projects include The Grand Exchange, a new residential complex designed to capitalise on growing demand for homes from people leaving London.

Other up-and-coming projects include Princess Square and The Deck which will provide new retails offerings and public space.