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Moving House to Long Stratton with Hamiltons Removals
Long Stratton is a small town in the heart of South Norfolk, and it will be familiar to anyone who drives between Norwich and Ipswich on the A140. However, a long-awaited new bypass is due to start next year in a project which could also see Long Stratton almost double in size – and mean that you don’t have to drive through the centre of the town any longer. Here Hamiltons Removals, who can help if you are considering moving house to Long Stratton, take a closer look at the town.
The History and Heritage
Long Stratton is made up of two historic parishes: Stratton St Mary to the south, and Stratton St Michael to the north.
The town is mentioned in the Domesday Book, a manuscript record of the “Great Survey” of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086, when it had 127 households (and nine major landowners) listed. It has two Church of England churches, St Michael and St Mary, as well as a Methodist church. St Mary is one of 124 round-tower churches in Norfolk.
Nowadays, the town has a population of around 4,500 people.
The Transport Links
The A140 runs straight through the town, which is simultaneously a curse and a blessing for residents – the former because there’s a lot of traffic going through the town and all the negative environmental impact that comes with heavy vehicle traffic (as well as making life more difficult for pedestrians).
However, this does mean that the town is very accessible, particularly in a north/south direction. The A140 runs through to Norwich in the north, and through to Suffolk in the south (most of the way to Ipswich). In terms of public transport, there are regular bus services from the town to Norwich and Diss.
A Long Stratton bypass has been mooted for many years, with routes to the east and west of the town being considered – but problems with the planning process, the war in Ukraine, inflationary pressures which pushed up the cost, and the coronavirus pandemic have all contributed to delay the project. The latest update on this is that permission for a bypass to the east has now been given planning permission, with a projected start date of April 2024 and an estimated cost of around £46million.
The Main Facilities
Long Stratton is located in the heart of South Norfolk and has plenty of facilities for residents.
These include plenty of independent shops along the High Street (the A140) and two small centres (the South Norfolk Shopping Precinct and The Icehouse Precinct), as well as a Co-op supermarket and a petrol station on the main street.
There are two pubs (The Queen’s Head and The Swan, pictured), three schools (an infant school, a junior school and a high school), a doctors’ surgery and a library in the town.
Long Stratton is also the home of South Norfolk District Council, a major employer who also operate a leisure centre in the town. It is also a commuter town, with many people commuting to work (mostly to Norwich, but also to other parts of Norfolk and Suffolk).
The Housing Market
The bulk of the housing stock in Long Stratton are detached and semi-detached homes. However, ACRE (the Action for Communities in Rural England charity) points out that the town does still have a number of smaller homes (including terraced properties) which helps first-time buyers to get onto the market; there’s also a sizeable sector of rented properties as well. It also says the town is quite ‘youthful’ and has a large number of younger homeowners.
The new bypass should also bring with it around 1,800 new homes (around two-thirds to the east of the existing town, and the remainder to the west) as well as a new primary school.
According to property website Rightmove, the average price of a Long Stratton home was around £285,000 last year – and most of these were semi-detached houses. Terraced houses were around £60,000 cheaper.
Moving House to Long Stratton with Hamiltons Removals
If you are interested in removals to Long Stratton, then call Norfolk removals company Hamiltons Removals.
We are also based in South Norfolk (with sites at Harleston and Aldeby) and have plenty of local expertise when it comes to high-end removals within the county. We can help you kick-start the moving process with an online quotation or a video survey.
And we don’t just provide Norfolk moves – we can help you move to anywhere in the UK and overseas, and we can move your business as well if you’re looking for a commercial removal.
For more information about all our services, you can also call us on 01379 855203.
Photo: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/Geographer
Moving House to Taverham with Hamiltons Removals
As recently as 2015, Taverham was voted one of the best places to live by The Royal Mail, as its NR8 postcode scored highly for its good schools, low crime levels, good employment prospects, green spaces and affordable housing.
In the last eight years the village has remained a popular place to move to, for both domestic and commercial reasons. Here Hamiltons Removals, who can help if you are interested in removals to Taverham, put the spotlight on one of Norfolk’s larger villages.
The History and Heritage
Like Fakenham, Taverham lies on the banks of the River Wensum, but is much closer to Norwich – in fact it forms part of the officially-designated ‘Norwich Built-up Area’. The village is five miles north-west of the city.
Discovery of flint tools, and Roman coins and pottery, suggest the site of the current village has been occupied continuously since the year 2000 BC. The village currently has more than 10,000 inhabitants, making it one of the biggest in Norfolk. Taverham was also mentioned in The Domesday Book, when it was spelt Taurham, Taueham and Tauresham. Just as there was no definitive spelling, no one is quite sure where the name originated from. The Anglo Saxon Prince, Saint Walstan, is also believed to have worked as a farm labourer in Taverham – which accounts for his presence on the village sign (pictured).
Past village industries included tomato-growing (much of the nursery site has since been sold for housing) and paper manufacturing. The paper produced at a mill in the village was of an extremely high quality and was used by The Times newspaper, Bank of England notes, and the Oxford English Dictionary. Like the nursery, the mill is no more.
Much of the village’s economic activity is now centred around the businesses at the Beech Avenue Business Park, with many people commuting into Norwich for work.
The Current Facilities
Children can stay in the village throughout their school years – Taverham has two infant schools (Ghost Hill and Nightingale), a junior school and a high school whose catchment area also includes the neighbouring villages of Ringland and Felthorpe. The high school also has a sixth form college.
Taverham also benefits from a village hall, a library, a recreation ground, a Scout and Guide hut and a GP surgery (the village is also only a 15-minute drive from the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital). There are plenty of small, independent shops in the village, but most people go into Norwich for major purchases and recreational shopping.
House Prices
The average house price in Taverham is around £350, 000 according to Rightmove – well below the Norfolk average of around £430,000. It helps there’s plenty of choice in the village; the average detached home costs more than £425,000 but the semi-detached and terraced properties generally go for under £300,000.
Removals to Taverham with Hamiltons Removals
Hamiltons Removals can help if you are interested in moving house to Taverham. We also provide house removals services to all parts of East Anglia, we can also help with moves further afield as well – to all parts of the UK, Europe and many international destinations. As well as video surveys and online quotations, we can also offer many other services – including removals insurance and a full packing and unpacking service.
If you’d like to learn more, follow this link to read our online brochure or call us on 01379 855203.
Image: IAN ROBERTSON/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS