The WhatHouse? team considers some of the best places to live in Shropshire, focusing on the range of high-quality brand new homes currently for sale in the county’s favourite market towns.
Market Drayton
With several notable sites reflecting its heritage, Market Drayton is situated right in the north of the county, close to the borders with Cheshire and Staffordshire. There are plenty of shops and supermarkets in and around the town centre and the market takes place every Wednesday. There are Ofsted-rated ‘Good’ nursery, infant junior and secondary schools in the town. There are sports team and an annual Arts Festival to appeal to all ages. The town is around half-an-hour by road to Stafford, Shrewsbury and Telford.
In the north of the town, close to the A53 between Stoke-on-Trent and Shrewsbury, prices from £169,750 for a current collection of three- and four-bedroom houses at Montgomery Place . This low starting price is thanks to the growing government-backed First Homes scheme, where qualifying buyers can purchase their home for a discount of the full market price – in the case of the three-bedroom ‘Bembridge’, £169,750 is 70% of the full price of £242,500. Top of the range, unavailable through First Homes, is the ‘Cliveden’ four-bedroom home at £368,500.
Exclusively for over-60s and located close to the shops and amenities of the town centre, McCarthy Stone’s Joules Place offers secure, energy-efficient one- and two-bedroom apartments for retirees currently for sale from £180,000 and £237,950 respectively and also available to rent. As well as the private homes here, there are communal lounge and landscaped gardens, with a house manager looking after things day-to-day on site.
A few miles east of the town in the village of Loggerheads, Wain Homes is currently busy building new three- and four-bedroom houses at its Shropshire Heights development, currently priced from £250,000 and £370,000 respectively. There are some new releases in a range of layouts and architectural styles. A four-bedroom show home will be opening soon. Of the currently available homes, the ‘Laburnum’ is a terraced home with kitchen/dining room, lounge, three bedrooms, cloakroom and bathroom, priced at £250,000. The double-fronted ‘Hornbeam’, at £425,000, has four double bedrooms (on en suite), dual-aspect kitchen/dining room, lounge with bifold doors to the garden and a dedicated study.
The ‘Alder’ house type at Oteley Gardens
Shrewsbury
The county town is set on the River Severn and oozes its mediaeval history with hundreds of listed buildings, making it one of the region’s most attractive market towns. Its busy and well-served streets are complemented by things like the riverfront park called The Quarry and numerous other green open spaces and playgrounds. The independent Shrewsbury School is a famous and has many famous alumni, but there is plenty of excellent state education too, with The Priory School a notable ‘Outstanding’ rated former grammar school. The town is very well connected by rail, with numerous operators running services to the likes of Telford, Cardiff, Manchester and Birmingham International. Major roads the A5 and A49 put a host of towns and cities within direct reach.
There are great opportunities to by at Oteley Gardens, to the south of the town and just a couple of minutes from the A5. Bovis Homes currently offers three- and four-bedroom houses for sale from £339,995. It’s Feature Home at the moment is the four-bedroom ‘Alder’. At £429,995, it comes with integral single garage, a sitting room, a kitchen/dining room to the garden, a utility room, and en suites to two of its bedrooms, as well as a family bathroom. Thanks to Home Reach, there’s a chance for qualifying house-hunters to ‘part buy-part rent’ a brand new home here. The ‘Magnolia’ is priced at £140,000 for a 50% share (full market value £280,000 and offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms, single garage and private driveway.
Persimmon Homes’ Weir Hill Gardens is ideally located for nearby college and business park and only three miles from the heart of the town. There’s a really dicerse variety of new homes coming here, with two and five bedrooms to suite a host of budgets and requirements. Prices currently start at £239,950. The ‘Souter’, from £279,950, could make an ideal home for a growing family and offers the flexibility of three-storey living. A kitchen/dining room and living room are on the ground floor, there are two bedrooms and a bathroom on the first floor and the top floor is dedicated to bedroom one and en suite and some off-landing storage.
Newport
Newport is a town ten miles north of the centre of Telford and 12 miles west of Stafford. There was a generation project a few years ago to update the High Street and surrounding area, and there’s a range of stores and places to eat and drink there. Centrally situated Haberdashers’ Adams Grammar School is rated ‘Good’ by Ofsted as are a number of primary schools in the area. There are a number of sports clubs and the town hosts the well-known Newport Show agricultural event every year, underlining the semi-rural life that is on offer here.
Persimmon Homes is busy here and has seen great success at its Oak Tree Gardens development, though keen buyers could snap up an available three-bedroom home from £299,950 and, until the end of February 2023, benefit from a choice of offers – either mortgage paid for 10 months when they move in, or a great saving and bonus payment through the 105% Part Exchange scheme. The ‘Hatfield’ is a popular house type that comes with a private driveway. The kitchen/dining room has utility room and French doors to the garden, with a separate lounge at the front of the house. Bedroom one has an en suite, the other two share the bathroom.
Clove Court at Quarry Place
Ludlow
One of the county’s most treasured places to live, with its combination of great amenities, its array of historical sites and buildings, and its proximity to scenic landscape, including the Shropshire Hills AONB. It’s also known for its farmers market, food and drink festival, and arts venues and events. It’s served by a railway line between Newport in Wales and Shrewsbury but there are plenty of local shops and facilities in the town and its outskirts.
Shropshire Homes is busy at Quarry Place, a new collection of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and houses in the north of the town. Flats in Clove Court start at £139,950 and come with a secure entry system, allocated parking and electric vehicle charging point. Selected plots come with a deposit paid offer, or flooring and blind packages.
Crest Nicholson’s Ludlow Green is just a mile east of the town centre, within easy reach of the A49 for Hereford, Shrewsbury and as far as Warrington. This development will comprise a mix of four- and five-bedroom houses, with plenty of options for those looking for a larger family home. The housebuilder’s own Feature Home right now is ‘The Whixley’ at £460,000 and coming with £500 towards energy bills for six months, plus flooring, and turf to the west-facing garden. Downstairs are the open-plan kitchen/dining/family room, utility room, cloakroom, study and lounge, while upstairs are four double bedrooms (one with en suite shower room), a single bedroom and a family bathroom.
Wellington
A part of the borough of Telford and Wrekin, four miles north-west of the town centre, it’s an historic place with mention in the Domesday Book, but it has been kept up-to-date with a regeneration project over recent years. It has its own station with destinations as varied as North Wales, Shrewsbury, Birmingham and London Euston. There are lots of good local amenities, with sports clubs, a leisure centre and numerous well-regarded schools, including the independent Wrekin College.
Haygate Fields is in the west of town, close to Orleton Park, and it offers a variety of three-, four- and five-bedroom houses. The current Feature Home from housebuilder Bovis Homes is called the ‘Yew’, for sale from £489,995 and until the end of February 2023 coming with a dela of £11,000 towards Stamp Duty. This three-storey house has five bedrooms (three with built-in storage, one with en suite), a study, living room and, leading to the rear garden, an open-plan kitchen/dining family room. It comes with garage and private parking.
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