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Telegraph
a day ago
- Business
- Telegraph
‘I have a good job, but still can't afford to buy where I grew up'
Have you been priced out of your home town? Email: money@ Growing up in a village six miles from Cambridge, Heather McRobie describes her childhood as idyllic. 'Playing on the village green with my friends, it was so safe. It's heartbreaking that my kids won't have that. We were the last generation to have that.' Despite her and her partner having good jobs, McRobie – who wanted to use her maiden name – cannot afford to buy a house where she grew up. Her father, an engineering professor at the university, bought a cottage for just under £100,000 in 1996 and still lives there with her stepmother. Now, similar cottages sell for over £1m. McRobie, 40, is a lecturer at Birkbeck University in London. She's been renting in the city, but the couple want to make the move to owning their own home, and would have liked to settle in Cambridge. 'We're currently renting in east London and hoping to start a family. We're looking for a two- or three-bedroom house, but there's nothing in our budget,' she says. 'We might have to buy an apartment, which isn't ideal if you want kids.' She wants to be near her father and stepmother so they can support with childcare in future, but also so her children can have a close relationship with them. Her brother works in tech at one of the Cambridge science parks, and he and his wife have been able to buy in Cambourne, a new town just outside Cambridge. If and when they have children, 'he will have my stepmum and dad on-hand, and the benefit of being near them', she says. While her upbringing was not affluent, it was intellectual, McRobie says. This included her attending Hills Road Sixth Form College, one of the top state schools in the country – and another reason why the area is so sought-after. 'Word got out about Hills Road a few years ago. I think that it gets more people into Oxford and Cambridge than Eton and Harrow – I had an amazing time there. Anyone would want their kids to go there,' she says. McRobie is still in touch with a lot of the people from school, and says they are also finding it difficult to move back – despite being vets, doctors and university lecturers. 'It's surreal. I feel like, 'If I can't buy there, who can?'. I don't mean this in a snooty way, but I'm not a struggling single parent.' Nostalgic returns become increasingly unattainable While the price increases in Cambridge are particularly marked, the issue of 30-somethings being priced out of where they grew up is a trend that's occurring across Britain. Just over half (52pc) of prospective home movers would consider returning to their home town, according to Zoopla, but that's increasingly easier said than done. This is primarily thanks to steep house price growth over the last 20 years, which is particularly marked across London – where average prices have gone up by 119pc in that time, along with significant jumps in the South East and East of England, where Cambridge is located. ' Our latest analysis certainly brings to light the profound impact that two decades of house price growth has had on the dream of 'returning home',' says Daniel Copley, consumer expert at Zoopla. 'UK house prices have soared by 74pc since 2005, making that nostalgic return financially unattainable for many, especially in hotspots in the South East and Eastern England.' Regional house price growth can also be affected by local investment, with Cambridge in particular being affected by the opening of Cambridge Science Park attracting more workers to the area, and in turn encouraging other companies to set up there, too. McRobie gives the example of Station Road which has been transformed from a row of tired shops and cafés into a place that now has a WeWork and Apple's offices. ARM, Samsung, Spotify and Huawei also have headquarters in the city. 'It's surprising how much Cambridge has changed, especially in the last five years, but also before that,' she says. 'People are using it as a commuter space, and it's now a very affluent area as opposed to a middle-class city.' While this kind of investment can bring a lot of positives, for those like McRobie, it means even fewer affordable areas. With the majority of Cambridge and its surrounding villages outside her budget, McRobie is now looking at other options. 'One friend has moved to Chesterton [a 45-minute drive away] which is far from her parents…[Others] are moving to Norwich and Ely, which are more affordable. That's probably what we will do – move to Ely.' 'I would have had to rent a two-bed flat with three kids' Farhana Hussain experienced a similar problem when she tried to move back to her home town of Pinner, Middlesex. Hussain, 47, lives in Tonbridge, Kent with her three sons, aged 15, 18 and 20, and has been there since 2016 – although, even back then, she'd ideally have moved to Pinner. '[Pinner's] a lovely suburban area, it felt very safe. We walked to friends' houses, it had a village feel, but you were on the Underground and could get into central London very easily,' she says. Ms Hussain's parents and many of her school friends still live in the area but, in the end, the family couldn't make the move work. 'We decided on Kent because of the value for money, and also because we were spoilt for choice when it came to schools. I moved reluctantly because it ticked a lot of boxes,' she says. The desire to move back returned in 2020, when Hussain and her husband divorced, and the pandemic hit. 'Divorce and Covid changed my perspective on family life. I was a full-time, single mum. I thought I really need to go home. I wanted to be near my family and the friends I had grown up with.' She looked at what she could buy with a budget of £400,000, and found nothing suitable. 'I would have been able to rent a two-bedroom flat. I couldn't buy. There's nothing under a £1m in Pinner, as there are no terraced houses and everything is detached or semi-detached. 'The reality is that, unless you have two, very good, incomes, you can't afford to buy there.' The rent on a two-bedroom flat was still steep, and would have come to around £1,200 a month. While it was painful, Hussain decided she was better off staying in Tonbridge, where she was able to buy a three-bedroom house. 'We could have forced it to work in a two-bed flat in Pinner with three kids, but we would have compromised in other ways,' she says. As well as having more space, Hussain says Tonbridge has more ready access to good schools – one of her sons was on the waiting list for an outstanding school in Pinner, but was number 247 – and she can still see her parents relatively easily, with trains taking just under an hour. Hussain says she's found it helpful to stop thinking about not living in Pinner as a downgrade. 'I attach these memories to it but, if I moved back, I might find I'd outgrown too much there. I'm not the person I was at 17 or 18. We've made a life for ourselves here.'
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
Cambourne men's group restore replica of ancient Bourn windmill
An 80-year-old replica of one of the oldest surviving windmills in the UK has been restored by a community group that supports men's mental model of Bourn Windmill, near Cambourne, Cambridgeshire, was created by Michael Dunn in his workshop in Bristol in the 1940s, but had fallen into disrepair. Cambourne Men's Shed stripped paint, repaired sails, replaced damaged parts and repainted the miniature building, as part of the "challenging but enjoyable project".The fully working model will go on display alongside the original during the windmill's open days in the summer. Greg Thompson, who runs Cambourne Men's Shed, said "restoration of the replica has been a challenging but enjoyable project and many different Shedders have contributed over the past months after work began in October 2024".The organisation is part of a UK network "providing inclusive, welcoming spaces where men can connect and contribute to local causes while supporting their own wellbeing", he added. Mr Dunn was a lifelong windmill enthusiast, who photographed mills across the UK from the 1930s to 1970s, leaving behind a vast archive now held by the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings."We are very pleased that it has been accepted as part of the museum and are delighted that it has now been restored by the local Men's Shed," his daughter Jennifer said. Bourn Windmill, a Grade I listed ancient monument, is an open trestle post mill which dates back about 500 years and is owned by local charity Cambridge Past, Present & manager Allan Scott Davies said the "model is more than just a charming garden feature, it tells a story of craftsmanship, family legacy, and community spirit". Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
