September 28, 2018 8.51 am This story is over 66 months old

Business Week: Lincoln signals new age of luxury

A positive sign that the city is prospering and attracting wealth and talent
The completed show apartment at Bailgate Court. Photo: Steve Smailes for The Lincolnite

Luxury living has not historically been abundant in Lincolnshire, but a gilded whisper of affluence has slowly surfaced in recent years. Housing experts and investors are increasingly confident in the prospects of Lincoln and its unique high-end selling points. This is a positive sign that the city is prospering and attracting wealth and talent.

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It’s far from a glut, yet, but there are certainly pockets of Lincoln which have become hives of opulence. Developments like The Colosseum on Newport, completed in 2015 featuring four-storey town houses between £450,000 and £940,000 and the One the Brayford waterside apartments priced from £130,000 to £500,000 have specifically targeted the wealthy. Even student flats are getting a luxury overhaul.

The latest palatial addition to the Lincoln property market is Bailgate Court (see our tour here), a £10 million redevelopment of the former Lincoln County Hospital and Chad Varah House off Steep Hill and Wordsworth Street. The 15 homes start at £450,000 for a two bedroom apartment and £1.2 million upwards for a four bedroom pavilion penthouse with rooftop terrace promising “the best views in the city”. It is a breathtaking new life for the 18th century building, due to be completed by December.

Behind the project is property developing trio Dean Draper, Colin Holden and Philip Good. We asked why Lincoln was the right place to invest in a development of such decadence. Dean Draper said: “We love Lincoln. We believe in it, we invest in it. We think Lincoln is going places. Every time I come here there is always something going on and you can just see progress on a weekly basis. Lincoln is thriving and we have a lot of confidence in Lincolnshire.”

It’s worth noting that new properties at a cool £400k asking price aren’t always being snapped up. Three years on, The Colosseum has yet to fix the ‘sold’ sign onto its full address book and some One the Brayford Flats are also still on the market.

Is Lincoln ready for an age of luxury? Property agents told us they are receiving more calls for high end living than ever before. Senior Partner Simon Bentley said: “At Mundys we have had more interest this year for properties over £500,000 than previous years. We are convinced this is because of the continued growth of the city, with more people moving to the area to take up senior positions. We believe this area of the market will continue to grow, albeit slowly, particularly with improvement to road and rail links.”

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