The cheap seaside town that's spent £100m to become one of UK best new places to live
EXCLUSIVE: The UK seaside town sees the average property sell for just a quarter of the national average and it may not be "one of Britain's best kept secrets" for much longer.
A seaside town named one of Britain's best-kept secrets is also one of the cheapest places to buy a house in the UK. Seaham, perched on England's north east coast, has used a £100 million cash injection to make itself an emerging destination for people to work, live or just visit.
One property expert, Helen Wall, the director at Sunderland's Bradley Hall, told Express.co.uk that the pot of cash has been well used to transform its promenade into a thriving tourist hotspot full of bars and cafes. It has also helped to draw in more outside investment, with more new homes being built, and businesses opening up instead of closing down.
Ms Wall said Seaham has long been a "hot-spot for house-hunters seeking a better, quieter life", but not everyone will know that the average cost of a house in this town is around a quarter of the national average. In Seaham, the average home costs £138,547 compared with the UK figure of £359,748.
Ms Wall added: "Less than a 30-minute drive from Durham and Sunderland, the town offers the perfect blend of bucolic, seaside living and easy access to the city, at a remarkably lower price than the UK’s more traditional commuter belts.
"It is also one of the cheapest seaside towns to live in, despite it being one of the most up and coming."
She said the town isn't resting on its laurels - with a new garden village in the works and a second business park on the outskirts of the town being constructed. "Locals are beginning to appreciate that it might not be one of County Durham’s best-kept secrets for much longer," she added.
Cllr David McKenna, a town councillor for the area, said Seaham is "bucking the trend when it comes to the nation's seaside towns", and cited its high street as a prime example.
“I know I’m biased, but Seaham really is a fantastic place to live and work," he told Express.co.uk. "Despite town centre high streets being in mass decline and populations dwindling, Seaham is a real outlier, with a whole host of new stores, bars and cafes opening in recent years and its population continuing to grow steadily."
So what is Seaham doing differently to make it soar through the ranks at such pace? Cllr McKenna said it's all down to the people who live there.
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He added: "Much of this is down to our exceptionally tight-knit community who really take pride in where they live and, for me, is also what makes it such a great place to live, work and raise a family.
Another major factor for Cllr McKenna is the array of good schools the town has and its "fantastic transport links" to the rest of the North East.
"We also have activity centres offering everything from surfing to paddle boarding, fencing, squash and jewellery making. Where else in the UK will you find all of that? For me, there’s really nowhere quite like it," he said.
What is there to see in Seaham?
One of the primary attractions of Seaham is the plentiful supply of sea glass waiting to be found among the pebbles and stones scattered along its sandy shores.
This sea treasure is actually glass made by humans that has found its way into the sea. Over the course of several years, the water shapes and polishes the glass before washing it back onto the shore.
The seaside town is also famous for Tommy, a statue depicting a soldier from the First World War, positioned near the town's war memorial along the seafront.
This bronze sculpture stands at a towering nine feet tall, gazing over the beach from the road situated just behind it.
This is just one of many heritage sites in the town. Other attractions include the East Durham Heritage & Lifeboat Centre, housed within the former lifeboat station situated on the town's historic dock.