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The bustling city of Derby is located in the East Midlands County of Derbyshire, 15 miles west from Nottingham and around 40 miles northeast of Birmingham. Derbyshire’s second city – county town status goes to nearby Matlock – was originally introduced by the Romans and has a fascinating history as one of the centres for the Industrial Revolution and later automotive and aero-engineering.
Sitting between the Midlands and the North of England with excellent transport links to both regions and the rest of the UK to boot, the city also has plenty to recommend it in its own right including scenic countryside on the doorstep, a friendly local community, low costs of living versus good job prospects and a great range of local amenities and leisure facilities for all ages. Derby City Council also has an impressive masterplan to redevelop the city centre by 2030, including the introduction of a significant number of new job opportunities and over 2,000 new homes.
This popular city was also named the best place to live for every generation in a 2020 study, with young professionals in particular benefiting from high take-home salaries, low rental fees (at only 23% of income, the lowest figure in the UK) and competitive house prices.
The average house price paid in Derby over the last year was £209,822, with, on average, £144,163 spent on terraced properties, £180,000 spent on semi-detached properties and £307,062 on detached properties. This compared very favourably to £187,662 for Derbyshire and £242,334 for the East Midlands region overall, making Derby a tempting proposition despite a 10.6% annual growth in house prices this year, one of the highest in the UK since August 2007.
So, what else should make prospective homeowners consider Derby their place to call home?
The city’s central location means that it is ideal for commuters. Derby is home to an impressive 3 train stations (Derby, Peartree and Spondon) with services to London in 1 hour 46 minutes, Leeds in 79 minutes and Birmingham in 45 minutes. The city is also privy to a comprehensive bus network and the A38 runs through Derby too, offering drivers easy access to the rest of the Midlands. The M1 between London and Leeds can be reached by the nearby Derby Southern Bypass and the A6, A50, A52 and A61 are all nearby. East Midlands Airport is also only 15 miles away.
When it comes to getting away from it all, the impressive Peak District National Park is only half an hour away and the city itself is home to a significant number of parks and outdoor spaces (over 375 and 900 hectares to be exact!) including Markeaton Park, Darley Park and Derby Arboretum, said to be the first park established in the UK and the inspiration behind New York’s famous Central Park. Derby is also a Sustrans National Cycle Network hub town and home to a number of scenic and commuter cycle paths.
For day-to-day living, Derby offers a great range of amenities such as intu Derby, the quirky Cathedral Quarter and the Victorian Market Hall for shopping, Derby Museum and Art Gallery, the Derby Guildhall Theatre, Rollerworld Derby and various leisure centres for days out whatever the weather. Dining options are also plentiful whatever your palate.
When it comes to education, Derby has a great selection of highly rated primary, secondary and independent schools plus the popular University of Derby, which was ranked at number 26 in the Guardian’s 2020 university league table and has around 30,000 students.
Derby’s strong sense of community means that there is also plenty going on for local residents including the Derby Beer Festival, Derby Folk Festival, the quirky Dog Lovers Festival and a regular roster of events at The Roundhouse and the Derby QUAD cinema, gallery, café bar and workshop. The impressive Georgian Cathedral with its 16th century tower also plays host to a range of talks and events.
Reassuringly for prospective homeowners, crime rates in Derby are low for a city of its size and it has even been voted one of the UK’s safest cities in recent years. Some of the most sought-after areas to call home in Derby are Allestree, Mickleover, Littleover and Chellaston. Properties range from contemporary new build developments and purpose built student accommodation to mid-century family homes and characterful period properties.
