Fears for homeowners as Heaton housing market takes a tumble

The average house price in Heaton has gone down by nearly 5% according to data released recently, in only a 6 month period, from June to the start of this year.

 

With house prices in NE6 already being below the average for the city, it is not ideal for homeowners in the area for their property to devalue.

 

House prices nationally have been and are predicted further, to be relatively unchanged throughout the year, so the sudden drop for Heaton is worrying. Though most of Newcastle seems to have followed the trend of Heaton with house prices declining in most areas of the city, including neighbouring areas of Jesmond and Byker.

 

The average sale of house in Heaton is now lower than £200,000 which is now significantly lower than the national average.

 

Will this soon be an unfamiliar site in NE6?

 

Privately renting landlords will be the hardest hit by these figures, with house prices falling it is unlikely more properties will be bought for renting, as well as this will be in fear landlords about their investment, with the property prices decreasing.

 

Richard Faulkner has multiple houses in the Heaton and Jesmond area and is concerned about the uncertainty in house prices.

 

“It’s never good for anyone when houses prices are lowering, especially for me as a landlord. I rent to student mostly and this type of uncertainty means I could have to increase my rents, which is something I don’t want to do.”

 

 

It is unknown if the decrease in house prices is in response to proposed plans by Newcastle City Council to move students out of residential areas out of the suburbs of Heaton, Jesmond and Sandyford, via incentivising landlords to transition properties from student housing to family dwellings, though the council refutes this.

 

A major worry of decreasing house prices, is that it may lead to an influx of abandoned and unoccupied homes. Communities in countries all over the world when experiencing a lowering of house prices, has seen the emergence to near ghost towns in their communties.

 

UK cities such as Liverpool and Birmingham have seen whole streets empty due to the housing situation, and there may be a worry that Heaton could follow suite.  Internationally cities such as Detroit and Cleveland in the US have whole areas completely unoccupied with no housing market whatsoever.

 

Unoccupied house in Heaton

 

Though it could be worse for Heaton, as the nearby area of Walker has seen a decrease in its average house sale of nearly 20%, the largest decrease in Tyneside.

 

With the housing market being an unstable and changing environment the hope is that house prices will recover in the area and hopefully improve, and Heaton will get on the road to recovery.

 

Heaton Spa provides an alternative form of therapy

A shop providing an alternative and revolutionary form of therapy has recently celebrated a year of its opening.

 

The Driftwood Float Spa located on Heaton Road is Newcastle’s only float spa, a place where you can reach a state of relaxation in a floatation tank.

 

The tank is a lightless, soundproof and filled with salt water at skin temperature, in which individuals float. It is seen by many not just as a method of relaxation, but as a form of therapy with providing beneficial health effects.

 

Lee Wood the owner of the Driftwood Float Spa, as well as an avid user of the floatation tanks tells Heaton Online about the benefits why people should take part in floatation therapy.

 

“People should take part in floatation therapy for a number of reasons, though to help with stress is an important one. There’s an epidemic of it all around the world and I believe it’s the greatest cause for health problems.”

 

 

It is not just stress that the salt water filled pods help, they are also claimed to help pain relief, reduce headaches, increased circulation and can even improve sleeping patterns.

 

The flotation tank at the spa

 

The shop is gaining in popularity, with more and more relaxed and stress-free people walking around Heaton than ever before.

 

The Driftwood Float Spa offers a wide variety of prices and packages, with a standard single float starting from £60, going up to membership packages at £100 a month.

 

Andy Reynolds, friend of Lee and employee at Driftwood Float Spa had this to say about working at the shop.

 

“It’s great working here, I’m a big believer in floatation therapy so I feel like I’m improving people’s health by setting up the tanks. Also the customers are all great and I’ve got to know some of them quite well, so the craic is good.”

 

The shop in Heaton

 

However, as much of the work done by a Floatation Tank deals with pain, stress and other invisible ailments, and with most of the evidence of its success being anecdotal, there has been a suggestion of how much help the therapy provides, Lee disagrees.

 

“Scientifically it is hard to understand what the floating does, but physiologically we know it reduces heart rates and leads to a more relaxing state of mind. And at the end of the day, the customers that use it have experienced better health and a more relaxed state of mind from it, if they say it helps, then it must do.”

 

With floatation therapy being used by sports superstars such as NFL player Tom Brady and NBA player Steph Curry, it is no surprise that the people of Heaton are wanting to and embracing Driftwood Float Spa.

 

Lee’s hope is to expand the business and open another spa in another location within the North east in the near future.

 

With Heaton providing not just a floatation spa but Tai-chi classes as well, it is sure to become Newcastle’s most relaxed and stress free suburb.

Location of the Driftwood Float Spa

 

Other popular forms of alternative therapy

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Worries for small businesses as Sainsbury’s local opens its doors on Chillingham Road

Heaton’s large variety of independent businesses are sure to take a hit with the opening of a Sainsbury’s Local on Chillingham Road this Thursday.

 
The Sainsbury’s is the second chain supermarket on the road alone with many more in the local area. As well as chain fast food outlets such as Pizza Hut and Subway, have made competition even harder for the already countless amounts of takeaways and restaurant on the small patch of road.

 

The new Chillingham Road Sainsbury’s on its opening day

 

Muhammed Hussain the owner of ‘The Grocery’, a greengrocers on Chillingham Road, located directly next to the Tesco Express, told Heaton Online he is not worried about the expansion of these major retailers on the road.

 

“I am not worried about any other stores on the road, I sell good stuff and people will always buy it if it is good quality.”

 

The devout Muslim business owner went on further to state that, “It’s up to God if business is good, he created the food I sell so it is all up to Him.”

 

Though not everyone is as prophetic about the increase in competition. Abesh Huq the owner of Chillingham Wines, located further down the road said this.

 

“More competition is always worrying, especially from a store like Sainsbury’s. Though so far we’ve managed to be successful on Chillingham Road and I’m sure that will continue.”

Mr. Huq shop

 

Britain’s high street is struggling with 15 shops a day closing on average in 2016, according to a report collected by the Local Data Company. The major factor according to the report was the consumer change from the high street to online shopping.

 

An area that was described in a recent episode of the Channel 4 reality home finding show ‘Location, Location, Location‘ as a ‘hip suburb’ due to the wide variety of independent shops and cafes, risks damaging its reputation due to the increasing presence of major chain retailers in the area.

 
The area has long been popular with students and young families, attracted by its low house prices, closeness to the city centre and importantly the strength of its independent shops, cafes and retailers, which separate it from other suburbs of the city and make it feel unique.

 

 

The report by the Local Data Company suggests that a main factor in the decline of small independent businesses is that consumers are now buying increasingly more online.

 

This consumer change effects independent stores significantly higher as they rely solely on the traditional form of consumer spending. Other factors stated by the LDC was the competition from out-of-town retail parks, as well as a general decline in consumer spending.

 

Though this intrusion of major retailers into Heaton is not all doom and gloom, it has led to a much needed increase in employment in the area, especially employment from supermarkets.

 

Newcastle’s unemployment rate is 3% higher than the national average, so the hundreds of jobs created by chain retailers all across Heaton will do something to ease this.

 

The hope is that a balance can be made between the ever expansion of major retailers in Heaton and its surrounding areas, and for Heaton to still have its thriving independent businesses which make it so unique.

 

Some of the best independent businesses Heaton has to offer

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Chinese martial art gains increasing popularity in Heaton

Tai chi, an ancient martial art dating back to 12^th century China has had a surge in popularity in the Newcastle area, with classes been run out of Heaton Community Centre on Trewhitt Street.

 

The classes are run by professional acupuncturist and multiple martial art expert, Ferris Jerjis. Ferris, who got involved in Tai Chi after an accident parachuting has been practising Tai chi for decades.

 

Ferris  pictured at his acupuncture surgery

 

 

“I’ve been running the classes out of Heaton for a number of years now, but have been studying and practising Tai Chi for nearly 30 years”, Heaton resident Mr. Jerjis told Heaton Online.

 

Tai chi is a fusion of Taoist health practices and fighting techniques, though it is usually practised these days for its health benefits, it still retains some of its martial elements, Ferris explains.

 

“People learn how to protect themselves if they have too, it’s not a duelling martial art like Karate, it’s more getting out of trouble and running away type of thing.”

 

The health benefits involving Tai Chi are extraordinary, with its slow and relaxing pace a Tai chi practitioner is likely to experience; greater aerobic capacity and muscle strength, lower blood pressure and improved heart health, amongst many other things.

 

Recent medical professionals are even recommending Tai Chi to those who are suffering from chronic pain disease fibromyalgia. With the martial art being better than any form of medication or exercise for helping to stop the condition.

 

As well as the physical health benefits, the martial art also improves mental health, with many people experiencing lower levels of depression, stress, anxiety, and just experiencing a better mood in general.

 

These effects are why Newcastle resident Frank Wright took up practising the martial art. “Tai chi has definitely helped with my mental health, I used to experience bad anxiety and had quite frequent panic attacks. Doing Tai chi helps with this and calms me down quite a lot, I cant thank Ferris enough for how he’s helped me with these issues.”

 

 

 

Tai Chi is generally favoured by the elderly, as it is low impact exercise, though a wide range of ages attend the classes in Heaton, from people in their early twenties to those in their late seventies.

 

Though it’s not just Tynesider’s who are embracing the practice, with Tai chi increasing in popularity all over the western world, it is now becoming a mainstream form of therapy and exercise.

 

If you are interested in attending a Tai Chi class with Ferris, the class takes places at Heaton Community Centre, from 7PM to 9PM on Mondays.

 

Heaton Community Centre

 

And don’t worry about not being able to keep up with the rest of the group, all skill levels are welcome.

Location of Heaton Community Centre

 

 

 

 

 

Crime on the rise in Heaton

Crimes on the rise in Heaton according to statistics released by the police. Hundreds more offences have been reported to the police in comparison to last year. The ten percent increase brings the total number of offences to just under five and half thousand.

 

This increase in criminal activity has been seen not just in Heaton but has been mirrored nationwide, with an increase of 13% seen across the country.

 

Anti-social behaviour is the most common criminal offence in this area of Newcastle, with over 114 reports to the police in December this year alone, though most crime categories have risen in Newcastle’s East End according to the data.

 

With NE6 and NE2 being majority residential areas burglary is high in comparison to the rest of the city, with students being targeted by thieves especially, due to a perceived lack of security measures.

Crime in 2016 and 2017 within Heaton 

 

Northumbria University student and Heaton resident Jack Powell feels that living in the area has meant he is always worried about arriving home to a burgled house.

 

“A few people I know who live in the area have had their houses broken into and had stuff stolen, so it plays on your mind,” claims Mr. Powell. “I once came home to find a man rummaging through the recycling paper bin at the front of my house,  I thought it was funny at the time but found out later that criminals do this to try and get credit card details, and other personal information.”

 

 

 

 

More worryingly crimes involving violent behaviour have also increased by almost 20% in the Heaton area, a trend also mirrored nationally. Former head of Northumbria Police Lord Stevens said in an interview last month that, “In the Northumbria Police force area violent crime is soaring; up by 50%, and it will get worse, unless something is done.”

 

Lord Stevens view is echoed by Heaton local John O’Grady, who told Heaton Online “I love living here, but sometimes I do feel unsafe, especially at night. It would be nice to see more police on the streets and would probably help with my nerves.”

 

A lack in funding from the government has led to the number of police officers working for the Northumbria service dropping by 20% since 2010. With less officers on the streets of NE6 it is unclear how this increase in crime can be stopped.

 

Police presence in Heaton

 

Though there is hope to curb the rise in crime in Newcastle with the Safe Newcastle partnership, a scheme working to help make Newcastle a safe city to live and work. They are the city’s statutory community safety partnership and drug action team and have received an increase in funding in recent times comparatively to the Northumbria Police.

 

Clifford Street Police Station in nearby Byker. Credit: (Daily Express)

 

With a sizeable amount of time until a General or Newcastle City Council Election it is unclear when a change will be made to policy on crime in the city, with the issue being sure to influence voters at the ballot box.

 

The home secretary, Amber Rudd, has acknowledged the rise in police recorded crime but said much of the increase could be explained by changes in police recording practices and the fact that victims are now more likely to report crime.

 

Northumbria Police state that if you’ve been the victim of a crime or think you have witnessed one, you should report it to the police straight away. In a non-emergency call 101 or in an emergency you should dial 999 immediately.

 

Newcastle residents talk about their experiences with crime in Newcastle

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