The third largest city in the North West and the largest in Lancashire, Preston has outstanding transport connections, a thriving higher education sector and a growing economy. With large employers, such as BAE, Royal Preston Hospital and UCLan, employment rates are above both regional and national averages. Importantly, Preston is also the subject of an extensive investment programme, set to send it to the very top of the list of the best places to live in the UK.
Preston in numbers:
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£435 million city transformation
Preston is a member of the Northern Powerhouse government initiative – providing it with a massive £434 million investment to improve the city’s transport and infrastructure development. A key part of this is the Preston, South Ribble and Lancashire City Deal, which is creating more than 20,000 jobs and 4 new road schemes and it is expected to increase the local economy by more than £1 billion over the next decade.
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Approved Stoneygate Masterplan
In June 2020, as part of Lancashire’s multi-million pound, ongoing Green Infrastructure programme, Preston City Council approved adoption of the Stoneygate Regeneration Framework. This will create an ‘Urban village’ in the 250,000sq.m Stoneygate area of the City and bring new, exciting and sustainable uses to a number of vacant, derelict and underused sites in the heart of Preston, complimenting the City’s Purple Flag status for the safety and diversity of its evening and night-time economy.
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University city with £200 million ongoing improvements
Preston is home to one of the UK largest universities, UCLan, with a £200 million investment in place for the City Campus. The high-ranking educational institute has a student body of approximately 33,000, along with thousands of teaching and administrative staff. The upgrade, which includes cutting-edge facilities, is expected to elevate university standards to international level, help create and retain jobs, kick-start regeneration and attract inward investment of Preston.
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Growth and Yields
Savills predicts that the North West will witness a 24% price growth over the next five years, the highest capital growth of any region in that period. Preston’s housing market is particularly booming, with a 3.4% average house price growth in the past 12 months compared to a national average of 1.2%, proving its resilience to the ongoing economic and political turbulence. Rental growth is also strong, increasing 7% year-on-year.
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Ranking
Preston consistently out-performs all other North West cities in the annual PricewaterhouseCoopers and Demos ‘Good Growth for Cities’ Index. In the latest edition (2019), Preston ranked 12th in the UK, ahead of Manchester, Liverpool and London. This follows on from the success of the 2018 Index, where Preston was named the UK’s ‘Most Improved City’. A significant and useful study for investors, the Index includes factors beyond traditional economic measures, such as health, work-life balance, skillset amongst the young and adult population, environment, equality and personal wellbeing.