York is one of the North’s greatest cities and it’s considered by many to be the traditional county town of the whole of Yorkshire.
York is an enticing blend of old and new, and has even been voted as Britain’s most beautiful city*.
Romans, Saxons and Vikings have all made their mark, leaving a legacy of appealing architecture, cobbled streets and ancient encircling walls.
York’s industrial past revolved around confectionary – especially chocolate – with the Rowntree’s and Terry’s dynasties both based in the city. An element of this survives today with Nestlé Confectionery’s headquarters still in York at Haxby Road, with an estimated roll call of between 3,000 and 5,000 employees.
Rather than dwell on its manufacturing past, the city is forging ahead with a digital revolution that is distinguishing York the UK’s first ‘gigabit city’, with 15,000 business and homes being connected to 1Gbps broadband by 2017 – a service 100 times quicker than a typical connection.
As well as its gigabit status; companies are drawn to York thanks to its highly competitive rates and new commercial property developments. Major employers include the University of York, York St. John University, the Shepherd Building Group, Aviva, Mologic, TSP, Hiscox and Fera Science Ltd.
There’s space for every industry in York. The city centre boasts a thriving office scene, with serviced, hot desking, collaboration and flexible-term offices. York’s numerous business parks span large industrial and warehouse units through to HQ office buildings, manufacturing opportunities, flexible managed workspace and laboratory facilities. A number of York’s business parks also offer land for speculative development and many have strategic locations on the edge of the city.
To the south of the city is York’s award-winning science park, which provides flexible office and laboratory space set within a 21-acre business park. One to watch for the future is York Central – with 120,000 sq m of commercial space and capacity for up to 2,500 new homes adjacent to York railway station ready for occupation come 2018.
The city keeps professionals well connected if business travel includes leaving York. The journey from York’s city-set station to London King’s Cross can be as quick as 1 hour 49 minutes, with a complimentary road network that includes the M1 and M62, and easy access to Leeds Bradford, Manchester and Doncaster airports.
Billed as an ‘attractive and elegant alternative to London’, York’s residential landscape evolved in the Georgian period, with the erection of fanciful townhouses and buildings that remain in favour today. The ‘bars’ – gatehouses around the city walls – define some of the centre’s best residential roads and enclaves. Holgate, Coppergate, Skeldergate, Merchantgate, Fishergate, Fossgate, Stonegate and Monkgate are to name a few, and are awash with serviced apartments.
While there are plenty of properties to rent around York’s medieval walls, the suburbs that sit within three miles of the city centre are equally as attractive. Knapton, Acomb, Monks Cross, Fulford, Bishopthorpe, Clifton, Heworth, Heslington and Bootham are great hunting grounds for rental properties. In terms of rental values, home.co.uk’s latest figures show one-bedroom properties in York rent for an average of £934 pcm, with two bedrooms for £1,064 pcm, three bedrooms for £1,031 pcm and four bedrooms for £1,298 pcm. Expect to pay more, however, for the city’s prime period properties.
Our relocation agents are currently active in York, monitoring the private rental market, sourcing properties close to employment hubs and helping settle home movers. If you have clients relocating to York and would like orientation and rental advice, contact Adleo Relocation today.
*Bing
