English market towns 'becoming gentrified'

Market towns in England are being transformed from emblems of the rural community into smaller versions of their urban counterparts due to an influx of middle class householders, a new study has advised.

Research from the University of Leicester conducted by PhD candidate Craig Wheway has suggested that Britons' growing desire to purchase a second property was behind such changes, which have affected market towns at even the most basic economic level.

Economies are moving away from agriculture towards newer skills and pubs are even transforming into restaurants as a result of such changes, the report notes.

"While a small proportion of Brits dream of owning a second property abroad, it appears that market towns in England are becoming increasingly popular," Mr Wheway advised.

"The research I am undertaking is pertinent on two counts. Firstly, no one has yet linked middle class migration with rapidly rising property prices in market towns. Secondly, the data will reveal the characteristics of market town gentrifiers, what pursuits they enjoy, how they use the countryside and their consumption habits," he added.

Some rural homes now cost as much as 13 times the average salary, according to recent figures released by the Commission for Rural Communities.



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