Savills Portugal

There are 15 National Parks across the UK, all of which are protected because of their beautiful countryside, wildlife and cultural heritage. Sometimes known as ‘Britain’s breathing spaces’, they boast the most striking views our landscape has to offer.

Established by an Act of Parliament in 1949, the National Parks looked to ‘preserve and enhance their natural beauty and provide recreational opportunities for the public’. The minister for planning at the time called it the most exciting Act of the post-war Parliament.

According to the National Parks website, more than 320,000 people live in National Parks. While part of the appeal is undoubtedly the remoteness, in recent years, improved connectivity, with better transport links and increased internet speeds, has also attracted professionals and young families looking for a work/life balance.

Buying a property within a national park is not always straightforward. Planning restrictions significantly limit new development while what little development is permitted is typically heavily restricted in terms of quantity and ownership.

For the most part, new multiple-unit developments within National Parks tend to be in converted historic buildings. However, exceptional circumstances permit new-build developments such as Ironworks in the Lake District. In this particular case, there is a scheduled ancient monument (SAM) on the site which has required significant investment to preserve its long-term future and which, as part of the wider Ironworks scheme and planning commitments, the developers are helping to secure.

With all these factors in mind, it is unsurprising that many homeowners are willing to pay a premium to live in a National Park, with an overall UK average premium of 50 per cent paid when compared to average second-hand sale prices in the 12 months leading to April 2018.

The New Forest and the Lake District have the highest premiums when compared with prices just outside the National Park, at 97 and 89 per cent above the county’s average second-hand sale price respectively.

Top Five National Parks by premium

Second-hand sale price in a National Park

^{Source: Savills Research using Land Registry data}

We are seeing more buyers move north to take advantage of the expansive countryside, but it can prove difficult to purchase in a National Park unless you already reside there. Each of the National Park authorities sets its own rules in terms of who is permitted to buy within its boundaries and permission is often restricted to local residents only. However, in some cases these rules can be relaxed slightly and an opportunity to purchase may be made available to those from further afield.