Home Buyers Survey Lancaster

Lancaster's architecture offers a fair variety, with older properties 'rubbing shoulders' with more modern developments up to the present day.

There are Roman baths visible near the junction of Bridge Lane and Church Street and Lancaster Castle dates back to the 11th century. Lancaster Friends Meeting House dates from 1708 and many buildings in the city centre and along St George's Quay date back to the 19th century, Bowerham Barracks were completed in 1880 and the Phoenix Street drill hall was completed in 1894. The Ashton Memorial in Williamson Park was built in the Edwardian era, between 1907 and 1909.

The Bowerham Council Estate in Scotforth was begun in 1920 and consists of semi-detached (such as in Palatine Road) and terraced properties which are reasonably varied with 'no two gables alike'. The Newton Estate was begun from 1923 and mainly consists of reasonably standard construction properties with some larger parlour type houses. The Mount Pleasant Estate was built between 1927 and 1930 with, once again, reasonably varied styles of semi-detached and terraced properties. Other estates built around the same time include the Ryelands Council Estate and the Marsh Estate.

There are any number of more recently-built properties and additionally a fair number of new build developments.

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If you're considering buying a property in Lancaster's locale, getting an Environmental Search Report, one of the main property conveyancing searches, is an important way to find out if there are environmental issues which might affect your enjoyment of the dwelling. A recent such report, bought for a property in Green Close, Hornby, Lancaster LA2 8JN revealed the following: A surface water flooding risk within 25 metres; Existing or proposed wind farms or wind turbines within 4km; and A coal mining affected area within 25 metres among other matters. Flooding risks often translate into larger insurance premiums (as well as the risk of real upheaval from an actual flooding event); coal mining areas often have issues regarding ground stability and wind farms can detract from the enjoyment of a property because of their visual impact and potential for noise pollution.	Some properties in and around Lancaster might be affected by previous coal mining works because this mining activity used to be widespread in the area. If you're looking to buy a property in the area using a mortgage, your lender might make it a condition of any loan that you purchase a Coal Mining Search to help establish whether the dwelling is likely to be affected by such historic mining activity.	According to the UK Government's Public Health England, Lancaster is in a raised Radon area, with properties built there having a higher probability than average of experiencing ground radon emissions. Properties built in streets such as Blades Street and Lindow Square are built on ground which has a maximum radon potential of 5 - 10%, which means that they have a higher than normal chance of being affected by radon emissions.

The county particularly came to prominence during the Industrial Revolution with Liverpool and Manchester growing into its major cities, whose economies expanded as a result of the trade from the docks and the cotton mills respectively. By the 1830s a massive 85% of all cotton manufactured worldwide was processed in Lancashire. Cotton mill towns which developed from this economy include Accrington, Blackburn, Bolton, Burnley, Bury, Chorley, Colne, Darwen, Manchester, Nelson, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale and Wigan.

The main motorway in the area is the M6 but other motorways, such as the M55, M65, M61 and M66, M62 and M58 also run through it. The county has international airports in Manchester Airport, the third busiest in the UK and Liverpool John Lennon Airport. These cities are also excellent transport hubs in general and their main train stations (Liverpool Lime Street and Manchester Piccadilly) offer fast access to other major British conurbations as well as to a host of other locations.

The county has many universities including for example the University of Liverpool, Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Bolton, the University of Law, the University of Manchester, the University of Salford, UMIST and Preston University.

There are at least four professional orchestras, including the The Hallé, which is the UK's oldest symphony orchestra and is based at the Bridgwater Hall. The Manchester Arena hosts more than 21,000, is the largest indoor arena in Europe and has been voted the most popular venue in the world. Landmarks include the Blackpool Tower, the Ashton Memorial, Rivington Pike and King Street Mill. Other attractions include Morecambe Bay, the Ribble Steam Railway, Blackpool Zoo and Camelot Theme Park. Lancashire has given many gems to cuisine such as Eccles Cakes, Ormskirk ginger bread, Faggot, black peas and bury black pudding. It would take many more words to detail how important the county has been musically, whether regarding folk music (for example the number of ballads emanating from the county, take 'The Ballad of Chevy Chase) or contemporary music (the Beatles and many more).

We have local RICS surveyors who specialise in listed building surveys in Lancaster. To find out more go to - Listed Building Surveys - Building Surveyor and Survey Cost in Lancaster