1. Pollution (#soicanbreathe): It’s been a hot topic of late, with The World Health Organisation estimating that each year, outdoor air pollution is linked to over three million deaths. Closer to home, the UK government has lost two court cases over illegally dirty air recently, which isn’t great considering evidence has emerged linking air pollution to heart attacks, lung disease and asthma. The worst areas in the UK include: London, Glasgow, Leeds and Southampton, this consequently creates the attraction for people to move from these and other cities into the countryside, where there are lower levels of air pollution and trees act as like giant air filters.
2. Transport: Britain aims to deliver greatly enhanced connectivity – so much so that the UK Government is committing an estimated £55.7 billion to the construction of HS2, and roughly 15 billion on the Crossrail. Whether these schemes are good value for money is questionable, but they will cut travelling times, making it easier to live outside of your area of work. For instance, you could live in the countryside, 25 minutes outside of Manchester, and be in London in roughly one and a half hours. If Britain can deliver its hugely enhanced rail capacity along with other better transport links, it will further increase viability of living outside city centres and therefore create higher demand in rural areas.
3. Working from home: Official market research shows that over 1.5 million people now work from home as significant technological advances over the last 5-10 years have made it a viable option. That has grown a fifth over the last decade. You can now rent a square metre in the Leadenhall building in London, make it your registered address, but be sitting in your country cottage in the Derbyshire Dales and no one would ever know. Generally, you get more space for less money in the countryside, therefore if you don’t need to be in the city anymore, why pay more for less?
Here at Ogilvy and Sneyd we specialise in rural property management and investment. Discover more about what we do, and how we could help to increase the return on your investments at www.ogilvyandsneyd.co.uk
