President’s Column

London ‘flight’ continues to Dorset & Hampshire

London flight is continuing, with storage businesses in Dorset and Hampshire reporting more people leaving the capital.

Since the pandemic Store & Secure, which has facilities in Poole, Bournemouth and Basingstoke, has observed the trend.

And this summer it has noticed an increase in the number of those moving to commuter and coastal areas.

With more people able to work from home and cheaper properties further out of London it follows that people will make the move for a better work-life balance.

Figures from estate agent Hamptons showed that more than 60,000 Londoners bought a home outside of the capital in the first half of last year – the highest number since records began in 2006.

It said that an increase in home working and rising costs in London were the main reasons.

And this trend appears to have continued with Store & Secure noticing a surge in recent months as house sales completed.

Lucy Maidman, who runs the business with sister Sophie, said: “We have noticed through the summer an increase in people storing possessions because of house moves.

“And the trend of people relocating from London looks like it is continuing – it’s something that has happened since the lockdowns.

“Our facilities in Poole, Bournemouth and Basingstoke are in the areas people are moving to – either commuter towns so they can get to London two or three times a week, or coastal areas.

“Some are buying second homes but most are relocating and when we speak to them they usually say that they no longer need to live in London because they can work from home.

“Some will go into London a couple of times a week, but they are able to move away and save a lot of money.

“They are able to improve their worklife balance and live in nicer areas.

“We anticipate that this trend will continue as hybrid working becomes more established, London costs continue to rise and strikes often mean people can’t commute anyway.” www.storeandsecure.co.uk

by Caron Khan

Good news!

Dorset Tourism has been a tremendous success this summer

New figures show that tourism is a major factor to the Dorset economy bringing a record number of visitors to the county. This comes after thousands of tourists flocked to the coast and the wider Dorset area packing out the beaches and many pubs, restaurants and cafés as temperatures rose to over 30 degrees in one of the warmest and driest summers for many years.

Tourism in Dorset is valued at £1billion a year and employs over 40,000 people across the region. These figures demonstrate the importance of tourism, in sustaining services that local communities benefit from all year round and its role as a vital part of the local economy.

Dorset offers spectacular coastlines and outstanding countryside, so it is no surprise that it has broad appeal to both domestic and overseas visitors.

We are an outward facing county, welcoming and engaging people from all over the world, and with our unique experiences and destinations, we need to maximise awareness of these to continue to grow both inbound and domestic tourism in the future.