If ever a city deserved the description “curate’s egg”, it’s Plymouth. The Hoe and the Barbican are beautiful historic landmarks that symbolise the Devon city’s maritime past and present — forever associated with the Pilgrim Fathers heading to the new world, Sir Francis Drake heading off to war and Sir Francis Chichester heading into the record books.
Yet for all these treasures, Plymouth has for many years been the West Country’s ugly duckling, more than a little embarrassed by its cosmetic imperfections — caused in large part by dreadful bombing during the Second World War. There’s the windswept concrete city centre, the large nuclear submarine base that interrupts an otherwise stunning coastline, and the estates that sprawl inland.
It has also suffered by comparison with Devon’s other city, Exeter. The latter has a higher profile: it sits on the M5; it has an airport, John Lewis and Waitrose; and it lures visitors with big events. (This autumn, it will be hosting Rugby World Cup games.) Plymouth has only the dual-carriageway A38; its airport shut in 2011; and earlier this year, it was reported that its high street had 60 empty shops. In 2014, the local economy suffered when the railway line from Exeter was closed for two months following storm damage in Dawlish.
Despite its dowdy reputation and a host of setbacks, Plymouth has grown into itself. As the saying goes, it is what it is: a mix of the outrageously gorgeous and the downright ugly. What’s more, it has several new strings to its bow. The chef Gary Rhodes opened an eponymous restaurant overlooking Plymouth Sound in 2013. An old naval block has been transformed into Ocean Studios, home to 100 local artists, and the disused South Yard docks are being regenerated as a centre for the marine industry, which should create 9,000 jobs by 2030.
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A business hub and a giant Waitrose will soon be built on a former barracks site on the city’s northern fringe, and the regeneration gurus Urban Splash are to turn a brutalist 1960s tower into fashionable homes.
There’s a buzz to the place, then, yet property prices are relatively low. They have risen by a modest 1.4% in the past year, with an average home costing just over £150,000, according to Hometrack. That’s £51,600 less than in Exeter.
The most sought-after suburb is family-friendly Mannamead, a mile northwest of the city centre, which has detached Victorian villas, leafy streets and good schools. You can buy a four-bedroom villa there for less than £400,000.
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Also popular, but dominated by flats (period and new), are three urban waterfront areas. Two of them, the Barbican and the Hoe, are just a stroll from the city centre. Further afield is Royal William Yard, a complex of 19th-century naval buildings revamped by Urban Splash. The exteriors look marvellous — all listed limestone and granite — and the open-plan loft-style flats have original beams and wonderful harbour views. The development’s sophisticated mix of restaurants, bars and cafes would be the envy of a bigger city.
“There has been an influx of high-end buyers on the waterfront,” says Andrew Bullivant, partner at Attwell Martin estate agency. The city is also luring an international crowd, thanks to the growing reputation of its university (attended by 27,000 people).
“The lettings market is booming, with some big developments popping up,” says Antony Stumbles, partner at Luscombe Maye estate agency. These are often aimed at students: a 22-storey tower is in the works, as is a £16m project to turn an old military building into 288 homes.
Students often live cheek by jowl with professionals, and both share the streets with 20,000 council and housing-association homes. This mix makes the city feel down-to-earth, but some
high-end buyers prefer to commute from posh addresses outside town.
Newton Ferrers and Noss Mayo, a 25-minute drive east, have the best homes in the area, mostly waterside — expect a lot of sailing talk. Four-bedroom cottages cost £1.5m; larger detached villas start at £2.5m.
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Kingsand and Cawsand — where some of Mike Leigh’s film Mr Turner was shot — are 10 miles west of Plymouth, over the Cornish border, and are catnip for commuters. Four-bedroom houses, many of which have sea views, cost a more modest £550,000.
The council trumpets Plymouth as “Britain’s Ocean City”, but a short drive away is a very different landscape: the bleak beauty of Dartmoor. “People are surprised by how close it is,” says Samuel Smithson, a local buying agent. “It’s 15 minutes by car to Yelverton, a gateway village on the southwest of the moor. Ten minutes further on is Tavistock.” Four-bedroom homes with moor views, a half-hour drive from the city, cost £400,000-£750,000.
Dartmoor is doubtless a quieter place to live, as Plymouth is a sea of cranes and building work. Quadrant Quay is a private and social housing scheme under construction near the terminal where ferries depart for France and Spain; walk five minutes and you reach luxury flats being carved from old buildings at the Millfields. Another 10-minute stroll takes you to the unloved Bretonside bus station, soon to make way for a £42m leisure centre.
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“The local authority is progressive,” Bullivant says. “Plymouth invests in itself.” With its combination of natural assets, urban grit and affordable property, it may persuade buyers to follow suit.
Data sourced from Hometrack, Residential property market analysts
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Properties for sale
Royal William Yard £282,500
This two-bedroom duplex flat is on the third floor of a grade I listed former naval building that’s been given the Urban Splash treatment. It has timber beams, ornate iron pillars and great views of Plymouth Sound. 01752 202121, atwellmartin.co.uk
Mannamead £559,950
Restored stained-glass windows, original mosaic floors and ceiling roses abound in this double-fronted six-bedroom house. It’s at the end of a terrace in a family-friendly suburb a mile from the city centre. 01752 663322, fineandcountry.com