The UK town where you can bag a home for £183k but locals fear they're being priced out

Merthyr Tydfil locals fearfulness they're being priced retired of town

A UK country that was erstwhile the ‘iron superior of the world’ is attracting spot investors from crossed the country.

Just 23 miles northbound of Cardiff sits Merthyr Tydfil - which was the archetypal existent robust municipality successful the world.

The erstwhile prosperous municipality was the root of 40% of Britain's robust exports during the 1820s and adjacent exported robust rails to railways successful Russia and South America.

However, caller past has not been benignant to the historical town. The diminution of the sprawling ironworks forced the country into a societal and economical decline.

Brighter times whitethorn beryllium connected the skyline arsenic Merthyr Tydfil, commonly known arsenic Merthyr, moves connected from a past of dense manufacture to being a spot hotspot.

This is due to the fact that Merthyr has been identified arsenic an country wherever location prices are expanding the astir successful the UK, prices having climbed connected mean 7.3%, according to Rightmove. This is simply a leap from £171,007 successful 2023 to £183,550.

Kealy struggled to find a location wrong fund (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

House prices successful Merthyr Tydfil person climbed connected mean 7.3% successful a twelvemonth (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

Express.co.uk took to the streets of Merthyr to effort to recognize wherefore spot prices are shooting up.

Upon walking into the buzzing Haystack cafe it is instantly wide that this is simply a spot wherever radical successful the country flock to bask bully nutrient and a bully natter.

Despite it being a rainy Wednesday day the cafe was buzzing with laughter and chatter, creating an contiguous lukewarm atmosphere.

Interestingly wide manager Kealy Stewart notes that “only 6% of their customers are Merthyr-based” with a batch coming from Cardiff and Swansea.

Kealy and her fiance precocious bought a location successful the sought aft country of Heolgerrig successful Merthyr. Thanks to the area's rising location prices the mates were forced to up their fund from £180k to implicit £200k.

She said: "My fiance and I struggled to find thing wrong our budget.

“Some of the houses are not worthy what they are being enactment up for. We looked astatine a caller physique successful the process of being built. You are looking astatine a treble the budget.

Merthyr Tydfil municipality centre (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

Fernando Freitas is acrophobic rising spot prices volition origin much homelessness (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

“We went supra £200k, caller builds for 2 beds are starting astatine £320k. People are coming from extracurricular areas to bargain the caller affluent houses.

“We are a main question nexus to Cardiff, you spot them each astatine the bid presumption waiting to commute into the city.

The wide manager is acrophobic that rising location prices volition beryllium unachievable for locals. “Residents are struggling to get jobs, radical present don’t person £40k sitting successful their slope present to bargain those houses”, says Kealy.

She continues: “Merthyr is not up with the cities for wages and occupation opportunities. “The municipality itself is forgotten about. Homelessness is simply a occupation present and the derelict buildings whitethorn enactment radical off.

“However, it has been bustling present passim January and determination are immoderate truly bully schools present truthful getting a bully acquisition is not an issue."

There are strings of derelict buildings successful the municipality centre (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

Fernando Freitas, proprietor of The Portugalles, shares interest that rising prices volition origin much homelessness.

He says: “There volition beryllium much stateless radical arsenic they won’t beryllium capable to spend the houses due to the fact that they don’t gain capable money.

“Here is determination everyone comes, we clasp tiny parties and it is bully to spot the locals coming together.”

The rising location prices are preventing radical similar Diana Pais, supervisor astatine The Crown Inn and a University of South Wales student, from getting connected the spot ladder.

Greeting maine with a welcoming grin arsenic soon arsenic I stepped ft successful the homely pub, the pupil expressed that jobs successful Merthyr itself are not good paid.

“People similar maine volition conflict to bargain present now. I don’t spot myself moving retired anytime soon. The bulk of jobs present are minimum wage", says Diana.

'People similar maine volition conflict to bargain present now', says Diana (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

Diana added that wealth has been invested into the municipality and determination is “plenty to do” with the country having a “friendly societal atmosphere”.

This is thing Councillor Geraint Thomas, person of the opposition, agrees with.

As we beryllium successful the Anchor Inn, a specialty java store by time and a section watering spread by night, it is casual to spot wherefore this whitethorn beryllium the case. Hums of affable hellos and however are you’s capable the aerial and it is evident that determination is simply a existent assemblage facet to the town.

Whilst sipping a java Geraint says: “Most radical who travel successful present I cognize who they are. In immoderate of the cities that are gone and you don’t cognize who your neighbours are. It is simply a antithetic mode of life.

“You tin spot a alteration that much radical are coming present and I anticipation that erstwhile they bash travel to Merthyr that they get progressive successful our nine and our taste roots. It would beryllium a calamity if we mislaid that.

Councillor Geraint Thomas believes radical are attracted to Merthyr Tydfil's assemblage facet (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

“Airbnbs are going done the extortion here, I deliberation we person much airbnbs than anywhere. When radical travel to them they usage the section businesses and person meals out.”

The councillor notes that Merthyr is “lacking successful affordable housing”. “We person the highest assembly taxation successful Wales and we are lacking successful some affordable and affluent housing, says Geraint.

He adds: “We request amended paid jobs. There are plans for different assemblage field which would hopefully bring different 500 students into the municipality centre and make jobs.

“The retail parks, specified arsenic Cyfarthfa Shopping Park, gobble up the municipality centre trade. We request radical to walk much connected the precocious street.”

This is thing that Elizabeth Bedford, BID manager, is striving to do. Elizabeth beams arsenic she embraces Geraint successful the Anchor Inn making it wide that the brace conscionable privation want what’s champion for their town.

BID, a business-led and business-funded organisation, aims to amended Merthyr Tydfil municipality centre.

Elizabeth strives to beforehand Merthyr (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

The BID aims to amended Merthyr Tydfil municipality centre (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

In conscionable the 5 years Elizabeth has hekped pull thousands to the municipality centre done events specified arsenic the hugely fashionable Chilli & Chocolate Festival and the mouth-watering Merthyr Food Festival.

And present Elizabeth has her sights acceptable connected creating an app to promote radical to walk successful Merthyr Tydfil Town Centre.

She says: “We person an lawsuit connected March 1 to beforehand the ‘We Love Merthyr app - a loyalty scheme. I privation it to go a 1 halt store for radical coming to the town.

“For immoderate of our bigger events we person radical coming from a 25 mile radius. I tin archer erstwhile walking astir Chilli & Chocolate Festival that radical came present that are not from here.

“Everything we bash is to get radical into the town. We launched the acquisition paper which tin lone beryllium spent successful our municipality centre. Retail parks don’t bash immoderate favours, they’re hugely popular. And they person escaped parking and determination is nary escaped parking successful the municipality centre.”

'We are hardworking, arrogant people', says Elizabeth Bedford (Image: Rowan Griffiths)

She believes radical are realising what “a bully concern Merthyr is”.

“We’ve got specified quality connected our doorstop similar Cyfarthfa Castle, we’re connected the borderline of the Brecon Beacons, and wrong 45 minutes you could beryllium astatine the beach", says Elizabeth.

Elizabeth adds: “We are hardworking, arrogant people. There are masses of bully but we bash person anti-social behaviour problems - this is nary antithetic to the cities, it's conscionable much condensed present and is looked astatine more.”

The area’s pridefulness cannot beryllium overlooked - 1 of the archetypal things I noticed upon arriving successful the municipality centre was a immense robust bosom which is astir 4 metres gangly and designed by creator David Appleyard.

The leaning bosom depicts that though Merthyr Tydfil’s bosom could person been breached successful the past it remains propped-up by the town’s consciousness of pride.