City of blinding sights
AS the Edinburgh to London train passes Durham you can see the city’s ancient cathedral in its full glory. It has gazed down on the River Wear for nearly 900 years, is the biggest Norman building in England and is hardly a stone’s throw from the castle where Prince-Bishops of Durham once ruled the North.
It’s a handsome city, Unesco-listed with one of the world’s best universities, surrounded by rugged countryside and only a short drive from Durham Heritage Coast.
It’s also been earmarked for major regeneration: the £150m redevelopment of the former Passport Office and National Savings & Investments block at Milburngate House and the £27m former DurhamWasps ice rink scheme.
Durham has potential says the city council’s regeneration masterplan, which Bellway Durham sales manager Darren Palusi confirms. “The housing market in Durham is booming,” he says, “and we’re seeing a demand for homes in the area.”
Bellway is building four and five-bedroom detached homes at The Green in South Road, Durham, less than 10 minutes’ drive from the city centre yet surrounded by open countryside.
Close to Durham University and the Botanic Garden,The Green’s homes have large gardens, open-plan kitchen-family rooms as well as separate living and dining rooms, bedrooms with en-suite bathrooms and separate family bathrooms.
The family-friendly setting means new parents Ashleigh and Michael Jones have been able to remain in the city they love, with their baby,Amber. “We really like this area and the new-build estate,” says Ashleigh, 31, who owns a beauty salon.
“The development is in a great catchment area for schools. I attended Durham Johnston Comprehensive School and I would love it if Amber could go there too.”
SHE adds: “I love that our house is within walking distance of the city centre but there’s also a lot of green space around the development as well, so we can go on really nice walks.”
The couple used Bellway’s part exchange scheme to sell the house that Michael, 31 – an area manager with GlaxoSmithKline – owned, so they could buy their new home.
“It’s nice to be able to buy a house together as a couple,” says Ashleigh. “We have lived in a newly-built house before but the style of the houses here is much better.
“The open-plan layout is great for when we have guests over and it means we never have to leave the baby in another room.
“We have two big French doors in the kitchen area as well, that bring in so much light to the room and make it feel spacious.”
Using Bellway’s part exchange scheme made the buying process much easier, too.
She says: “From seeing the house to actually buying it with part exchange only took us six weeks and the sales advisor was brilliant. She kept us in the loop and was the main reason why our buying process was so quick and smooth.”
Four-bedroom detached houses are for sale at The Green from £478,995 and five-bedroom houses from £499,995 (0191 283 5667; bellway.co.uk).
Durham has long been on the tourist trail but sales manager Darren says it’s been a sought-after location for house-hunters too.
“It is the perfect blend of town and country living with plenty of green space and facilities for all ages,” says Darren.
“There’s a wide range of leisure opportunities including Freeman’s Quay leisure centre, Durham City golf club, as well as the Gala theatre.”
It’s also got good rail links, with Newcastle just 15 minutes away and York about an hour – with some of the best views from a train seat in the country.