Paying a premium

THE premium for living among England’s architectural conservation areas has risen in the past three years, with buyers now expecting to pay 31% more than average to live in one, the latest research from Savills has revealed.

Defined as places ‘of special architectural or historic interest as deserving of careful management to protect their character’, conservation areas make up 2.2% of England, encompassing about 10,000 properties. Savills’s analysis has shown that properties in these areas are worth about £400,000 on average, compared with an average price of £305,730 in non-conservation areas. Perhaps unsurprisingly, London has the largest premium for its conservation areas, with Savills concluding that you are likely to pay 48% more to live in one. This is more than twice that of the second-placed region, the North-East, where the supplement stands at 20.3%.

When analysing the data at a more local level, the differences are even greater, with the local authority of Trafford in Manchester seeing a whopping 152.9% extra for living in a conservation area when compared with a nonconservation area. The key areas for Trafford are Altrincham, Hale and Bowden, with Altrincham having recently topped the list for ‘best places to live’ in the UK and Bowden being dubbed ‘Manchester’s millionaire village’. Another example would be Bath and its environs, which has 35 conservation areas and sees a local conservation premium of 47.5%.

REGARDED as one of the finest examples of Art Deco design in Europe, Devon’s Burgh Island Hotel (above) recently hit the market with Knight Frank at a guide price of £15 million. As well as inspiring two Agatha Christie novels, Evil Under the Sun and And Then There Were None, the property is rumoured to have hosted a meeting between Winston Churchill and Dwight Eisenhower before D-Day and even played host to Wallis Simpson and the Duke of Windsor and The Beatles. Accessible by foot or car at low tide, or by a unique sea tractor at high tide (as seen in the ITV adaptation of Evil Under the Sun, starring David Suchet, which was filmed at the island), the property features 25 rooms, spa facilities, helipad and tennis court. Originally built in 1929, the property was restored in the 1990s.

‘It is rare for a hotel of such character and heritage to come to the open market,’ says Knight Frank’s Matthew Smith, partner in the hotel agency team. ‘Burgh Island Hotel is a spectacular example of Art Deco architecture, it’s steeped in amazing history and provides guests with a sophisticated and distinctive experience. In recent years, the buildings have received considerable investment. It operates as a thriving business that generated in excess of £6 million turnover in its most recent financial year.’

We throw around the term ‘chocolate-box cottage’ a lot in the pages of this magazine, but here is a chance to own one of the original 12 Cadbury’s Chocolate Box Cottages that were featured by the confectioners in the late 19th century. Weavers, situated in Stradishall, Suffolk, is listed Grade II and lives up to the moniker, featuring a thatched roof, established front garden, timber frame and four bedrooms. £799,950 with Jackson-Stops (01638 662231)