Have you heard? According to recent surveys, Farnborough, along with Stornoway and Winchester, has topped the charts as the ‘top town’ to live and work in.
Perhaps the most interesting finding from this annual prediction is the latest criteria which help people choose where to live and work known as ‘creative congregation’.
What is creative congregation?
While councils have often favoured Dubai style malls which destroy previously popular high streets, the bad feeling this has created in communities, is causing a change in town planning. The loss of the high street and independent shops has created a dip in the local economy and residents aren’t happy about it.
Creative congregation – also known as ‘The Shoreditch Effect’ – reflects the changing wants and needs of people when choosing where they live and work. It shows that, increasingly, people are looking for areas with thriving high streets, independent retailers, aesthetically pleasing buildings and like-minded neighbours.
Altrincham is a great example of this. The town’s decision to invest in their high street rather than approve plans for new megastores and retail parks has seen the high street’s previous 30% vacancy rate dropped to just 10%, making the town more appealing to residents and growing the local economy in the process.
How is this influencing where we work?
The desire for spaces with meaning is seeing a shift in popularity for polished but generic offices, the equivalent of sterile shopping malls, to buildings with character that encourage interaction and inspire creativity.
Gone are the days of flashing the cash with huge rental costs ‘just’ to show off a London postcode. While the ability to work flexibly and remotely has changed the standard 9-5, face-to-face communication is still vital for a company to run successfully.
As a result, the Creative Congregation trend is flourishing in the workplace. Companies are now looking for flexible premises, value rents and a variety of office spaces to help them thrive.
Westmead House is a six-storey building in the heart of Farnborough, adjacent to the town’s main shopping centre, recreation and leisure facilities, and Farnborough business airport. Farnborough mainline railway station, which provides one of the best rail links to London Waterloo in the local area, is only a short walk from Westmead House.
To find out more, contact our Letting Agents:
Curchod and Co: 01252 710822
