Nottingham is in the south-west corner of the county that takes its name and holds the status of city and unitary authority. While the city itself has a population of just over 320,000 by the latest estimate (2015), the urban area which it centres is home to well over 900,000 people. Historically industrial, the city’s landscape is now mostly residential, with a centre dominated by office and retail space.
Famed for its prominence in the lace industry, the most recent Nottingham Growth Plan shows city authorities prioritising ‘clean’ technology, digital content and life sciences as sectors to concentrate investment on. Tourism is also strong in Nottingham, making the top 20 in a 2016 TotallyMoney.com list of the most cultural cities in England. It fails to score well in ‘quality of life’ surveys, such as the annual one published by Halifax, however.
Industry experts Hometrack currently identify Nottingham as one of the strongest cities in the UK in terms of its property market, along with Leicester, Birmingham and Manchester. See the latest figures here.
There are a number of excellent schools to appeal to new homes buyers in Nottingham: at primary level, among the very best are St Mary’s Catholic Primary in Hyson Green, Edna G Olds Academy in Lenton and Warren Primary Academy in Top Valley; the best secondaries are The West Bridgford School and Rushcliffe School in West Bridgford, The Trinity Catholic School in Aspley and Carlton le Willows Academy in Gedling.
The largest city on the East Midlands is, not surprisingly, very well connected. Major arterial routes are the A60 north and A52 west, primarily to neighbouring Derby. The M1 also passes round Nottingham’s western fringe. Other well established towns and villages are within easy reach on major roads: north of this city are Hucknall (seven miles), Mansfield (14 miles), Sutton-in-Ashfield (14 miles), West Drayton (25 miles) and Retford (30 miles), with Bingham 10 miles east.
The city’s railway station is the hub of the region’s network, linking to Derby (21mins), Leicester, Lincoln (50mins) and Worksop, as well as to stations further afield with other national connections, such as Norwich (2hr 36mins), Liverpool (2hr 44mins), Crewe and, of course, London (1hr 43mins).
East Midlands Airport is around 15 miles south-west of the city centre, with bus and rail connections, with services to many destinations in the UK and Europe.
A strategic housing market assessment from 2015 talks of delivering 25,419 additional homes to the Nottingham and its surrounding area (combined as ‘Nottingham Outer’) between 2013 to 2033. The research sees significant need for two- and three-bedroom homes over this period to meet the needs of the predicted population change
With a student population of over 60,000 at its two universities (University of Nottingham and Nottingham Trent University), there’s a very stable, sizeable rental market that will attract interest in the city from buy-to-let investors. The Local Plan mentioned above noted that this increasing population of students meant more demand for new houses to be built to suit multiple occupants.
Nottingham City Council has proposed the launch of a Selective Licensing Scheme, currently (May 2017) estimated at £600 per property for five years and with a discount of £140 for accredited landlords. The fee may still deter new or existing buy-to-let investors.