Is Burton Upon Trent A Good Place To Live?

I found Burton a pretty decent place to live thanks to its central location that affords residents access to all parts of the country. It offers the perfect balance between a thriving city and a hip estate given the many leading high street restaurants, bars and retailers here. It is surrounded by beautiful countryside and offers many recreational opportunities for families, singles and couples alike.

In this article you will find out:

Is Burton Upon Trent A Good Place To Live?

Yes, it is an excellent town for people looking for affordable housing or moving from the high-priced West Midlands estates. What I loved most about moving to Burton Upon Trent was how easy it was to commute to Birmingham, which is my workstation.

Burton is home to the legendary Bass family. Other notable people who have lived in this town are Sir Oswald Moseley, a politician, Paddy Constantine an actor and Joe Jackson the singer. Burton boasts a thriving town centre with several shopping malls that have cafes and shops. The evening is abuzz with customers streaming into the local bars and high-end restaurants that are known to serve the best cuisines in the world. The rental demand is pretty high within the leafy suburbs and around the town centre as most young professionals settle here.

Is Burton Upon Trent a Good Place to Live?

The Best Neighbourhoods

Branston

It is among the best neighbourhoods in Burton offering local jobs. Branston has a decent population of 3,000 people and boasts a wealth of public houses, restaurants and comfortable housing. I found its history rather intriguing; Branston got its name from the much treasured Branston Pickle, which consists of a spicy sauce of chopped veggies. There are lots of places to visit in the area, such as Abbots Bromley, Alrewas Village and Barton-under-Needwood.

Honinglow

If looking for a neighbourhood near the train station, this is the place to be. Honinglow has a large ageing population and has a pretty low crime rate. There are many primary and secondary schools that are located here, including Outwoods Primary School and De Ferrers Academy.

Stanton

The neighbourhood is located near motorway junctions, making it a good fit for people who commute every day to work. Most residence here are suburbs and semi-detached houses. However, the crime rate here is somewhat high compared to other neighbourhoods.

Crime levels

Burton experiences a pretty high crime rate. Most crimes are associated with anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, sexual offences, vehicle crime, arson and theft. According to the crime stats department in the UK, most of the crimes occur near shopping and parking areas, nightclubs and sometimes, near police stations. Streets that have reported most cases include Richmond Street, Casey Lane, St Jude’s way and Dallow Streets. The city’s police department had set up a community policing program in a bid to curb the menace, but it wasn’t as fruitful. Police officers cited that the initiative lacked enforcement action hence, were demotivated to participate in the program. Instead, they replaced it with problem-oriented policing that required officers to analyse problems and solve them.

Schools and Universities

If moving in with a family, I found residences located in multicultural metropolitan areas in Burton to host the best primary and secondary schools. Mosley Academy, located on Anslow, ranks among the best primary schools. Other performing primary schools include Shobnall Primary, William Shrewsbury on Chruch Road Stretton and John of Rolleston, among others. Secondary schools make up the highest number of institutions in the city. What’s more, the town’s council intends to add 2,600 secondary schools in the areas.

The town has a few universities and colleges with the most famous being Burton & South Derbyshire College located at the centre of Burton city. This college has attracted 13,000 students from the surrounding towns and villages and provides a vast range of courses. The student population is rather diverse as there are 14-19-year-olds, the employed workforce pursuing training courses and higher education and part-timers. The University of Wolverhampton School of Health has a presence in Burton at the Health Education Centre offering a nursing program.

Transportation

The Burton-on-Trent railway station is the primary means of transportation in Burton. It is located on the Cross Country Route and has two platforms: the first serves London, Derby, Nottingham and the North while the second serves the South, Tamworth and Birmingham. East Midlands has been tasked with operating the trains. Burton also has municipal buses that are operated by Arriva Midlands. It services a range of towns, including the Edge Hill, Derby, Winshill and Tatenhill, among others. Burton also boasts two airports, namely Tatenhill and Branston.

Social life

There is plenty to do here. Being a fan of theatre productions, I kept up to tabs with the latest stage productions at the Brewhouse Theater. I also enjoyed the most recent movies showed on their multi-screen cinema. There is also a musical theatre at the Burton Operatic Society, which produces two productions every year. Burton also hosted a School of Speech and Drama where amateur actors honed their craft. After its closure in 1984, an in-house amateur company called the Little Theater Players was formed and has since continued running the place as an independent amateur drama company.

Is Burton Upon Trent a Good Place to Work?

Yes, if moving to the UK permanently and looking for a job, Burton Upon Trent is a quite a prospect. The city has low unemployment rate thanks to the numerous industries that have been set up in the area. As at the year 2018, the rate stood at 4.7% which is a significant drop in the last five years. This figure includes 875 people aged 18 to 24 who claim unemployment benefits. The top five companies in the town (Hilton, Shaw Healthcare, Voyage Care, The Royal British Legion and Marston’s) are credited with employing the largest population.

Most people are trained to be plant and machine operatives while others have ventured into elementary occupations. Professional occupations, sales and personal services have the lowest percentage of employed people. The employed workforce is made up of full and part-time employees. There are more female workers taking on part-time trades compared to their male counterparts.

The average income for a median household is £43,586, which is an increase from £40,000 recorded in 2006, though by a small margin.

Is Burton Upon Trent a good place to Buy a House?

The housing market in this town is rather buoyant as most price ranges are holding up pretty well. First-time buyers make up the largest market. Most properties are two bedroom terraced houses with prices starting from £700,000, which rise to £1,200,000 for the detached properties. The surrounding villages, though fairly developed, also experience pretty decent demand.

Residential property types are available in different forms to suit every homeowner’s taste; they include modern town centre apartments, Victorian terrace housing semi-detached modern homes and dated detached properties. I also spotted a few period properties and local authority estates.

If moving to Burton Upon Trent permanently, opt for detached properties. They offer far reaching views as River Trent dissects the suburbs. All the houses are well-equipped with the necessary amenities and provide easy access to the town centre. If moving to the UK for work consider property located on Weaver lake Drive, Manor Park, Hollyhill Road, Whitemore Heath, Crakemarsh, Orchard Lane and Old Road streets as they are conveniently located and reasonably priced.

Is Burton Upon Trent a Good Place to Retire?

Burton upon Trent boasts a range of facilities for seniors. There are up to 21 retirement homes, ten nursing homes and 12 residential care homes. There are also private live-in care facilities that provide caregivers for seniors who want home care. They are ideal for seniors who don’t want to change residence. Live-in care also avoids disruption to the patient’s daily routine thus, keeping them happy. The caregivers also get to prepare choice foods for the elderly and offer companionship.

Is Burton Upon Trent a Good Place to Visit?

The National Arboretum, St George’s Park and the Turbury Castle are within easy reach from Burton. I also got a chance to visit the following famous places.

The National Brewery Centre

This was my first stop upon getting the first weekend off. I wanted to explore the whole process of brewing liquor. The National Brewery Centre is a museum that celebrates the rich history of brewing in Burton. The tour guides elaborate the brewing process step by step and explain the role of the vintage vehicles and steam engines in the development of the industry. Visitors also get a chance to taste the local ales on site.

Claymills Pumping Station

This restored Victorian sewage pumping station on Northern Burton was designed to pump sewage to the Egginton sewage farm. The pumping plant has four beam pumping engines that were constructed in 1885. Engines B, C and D are operational, but engine A needs restoration.

The National Forest Adventure Farm

Being an outdoor sports enthusiast, I found the National Forest Adventure Farm to be pretty thrilling. The farm has dedicated sports areas and go-karts for kids and adults. It also has a casual restaurant where visitors can relax and take a light snack.

The National Forest

I loved visiting this forest due to the freshness of clean air and the availability of different tree species. It is an environmental project that was established to blend ancient woodland with new tree species to create new national forest land. The forest covers a pretty vast area that takes up to 200 square miles North of Leicestershire, the southeast region of Staffordshire and South Derbyshire. There are plenty of attractions here, including Conkers, the Ashby Canal, Croxall Lakes, Bardon Hill and Bradgate Park, among others.