Where to move for… low crime rates

Yes, it’s the middle of a field – or Ballyclare in Northern Ireland

No, we have not metamorphosed into the Daily Mail. Indeed, we live in an age of historically low crime; the last Crime Survey for England and Wales suggests it fell by 9% in the year to June 2017, and has been falling since 1995. In Scotland, the latest police records put reported crime at its lowest level since 1974.

In England and Wales, though, the latest records point to a quite steep rise in some crimes: a 22% rise in knife crimes, 11% in firearms, 17% in vehicle theft and 9% in burglaries. These congregate in London (where Kingston-on-Thames has the lowest crime rate, according to the Met’s “Crime Data Dashboard”) and the big conurbations. The Dyfed-Powys police area has the UK’s lowest number of reported crimes (25,114 a year), followed by Cumbria and North Yorkshire.

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Property buyers dive in as Turkey’s lira plunges https://t.co/1igQtToz6s Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM

Property buyers dive in as Turkey’s lira plunges https://t.co/1igQtToz6s Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1030699322277593088)

Property buyers dive in as Turkey’s lira plunges

This week’s currency crisis has prompted a flood of overseas buyers seeking bargains

Property investors have been flocking to Turkey this week in a bid to grab houses and apartments that have in some cases dropped from £55,000 a month ago to below £37,000 now.

The highly-publicised collapse in the Turkish lira may have been a disaster for the country – and any British expat who bought there in the last two years – but it has been described as a bonanza for those holding US dollars, pounds or euros.

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Cracking summer: UK insurers expect rise in subsidence claims https://t.co/9WbTa0amnY Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM

Cracking summer: UK insurers expect rise in subsidence claims https://t.co/9WbTa0amnY Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1030490602213920770)

Cracking summer: UK insurers expect rise in subsidence claims

Heatwave has caused damage to walls of homes, with south-east particularly susceptible

Insurers are bracing themselves for a spike in subsidence claims after this summer’s heatwave led to cracks appearing in walls across south-east England.

Several big-name insurers have reported that subsidence incidents are up 20% on this time last year. The fear is that that those returning from holidays will see fresh damage and in September there will be an influx of substantial claims.

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Let’s move to Openshaw, Manchester: a great location https://t.co/7mO9yt3jvG Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM

Let’s move to Openshaw, Manchester: a great location https://t.co/7mO9yt3jvG Solicitors & Estate Agents In One Just £899 + vat .. https://t.co/GmjoJxU3bM (via Twitter http://twitter.com/conveyandmove/status/1030481700898439168)

Let’s move to Openshaw, Manchester: a great location

Great schools, decent parks, a tight community and, on paper, good prospects

What’s going for it? With London’s property market closed to anyone earning less than a squillion a day, the early thirtysomethings are leaving the capital. They’ve scarpered to Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow and Newcastle. So while London’s property prices have flatlined, those in other big cities are rising, and they’re rising fastest in the once-cheapest spots: Birmingham’s Ladywell, Edinburgh’s Holyrood, Glasgow’s Finnieston and Openshaw, where prices have soared by 13%. Average home prices here are £126,553 still less than half that of Manchester as a whole. This is a neighbourhood that’s had – and has – substantial challenges. But, like Ladywell, Holyrood and Finnieston, it has a great location pretty close to the city centre (and to the M60 for escape) and a long period of fairly sustained investment. Up the road is the National Cycling Centre and Manchester City’s Etihad Stadium. There’s a new civic hub and a Metrolink tramline. Openshaw’s got great schools, decent parks, a tight community and, on paper, good prospects. But I won’t lie: you’re not in Kansas/Ancoats any more, Toto.

The case against Openshaw is one of the most deprived spots in the country. It will need more sustained investment to see it prosper.

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