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League table of the top districts in Great Britain for home improvement in 2015

With many households across the country in the process of a spring clean, it was Kensington & Chelsea that led all regions in Great Britain for home improvement planning applications in the last year.

The home improvement report, compiled by construction industry analyst Barbour ABI, shows that Kensington & Chelsea had 7.3 applications for every 100 homes in the area last year, compared to the average of two out of 100 across Britain.

Overall the South East and East of England completely dominated the top 25 districts for home improvement applications. The first Northern borough, Harrogate, isn't found until number 74.

The biggest riser year on year in the home improvement rankings was Cambridge, with application growth of 119% and rising from 69th in 2014 to 7th in 2015. Like many towns and cities across Britain, Cambridge has seen a sharp rise in demand for housing but only has a limited supply. As house prices grew by 14.4% in the area last year, homeowners have turned to home improvement to further increase the value of their properties.

At the other end of the spectrum we find Blackpool at the bottom of the table, with just one home improvement application for every 250 private homes, which is the lowest rate in Britain. The report shows that generally, seaside towns in the south have a high rate of applications compared to a low rate in the north.

Michael Dall, Lead Economist at Barbour ABI comments: "As housing transaction activity expands outside of London, and the subsequent positive impact on prices, the rise in home improvement applications is perhaps expected.

"And while economic conditions continue to improve, the likelihood is that residential planning activity will also follow this trajectory.

"Although the economic headwinds have strengthened, the reliance on housing as a source of investment should mean that the home improvement market remains buoyant over the next 12 months."

T: 0151 353 3605
E: [email protected]
W: www.barbour-abi.com

8th April 2016