High Yield Locations in County Durham

Readylet Properties specialises in selling high yield properties in the North East and in particular the County Durham.   

County Durham is at the heart of the North East’s former coal mining area so when the coal mines closed between 1950’s-1990’s, the economy in the area was badly affected.  

Since them large amounts of investment has gone into the area and now the North East as a whole has one of the UK's fastest growing economies. 

The UK government is delivering on its promise to level up by making County Durham home to the Government's new Northern Economic Campus which includes the Treasury Department and new Industrial centers, technology and business parks have been built alongside companies such as Amazon moving into the area.

Transport links are good, with London King’s Cross can be reached in just under 3 hours by train and Newcastle upon Tyne can be reached in just 20 minutes making it attractive to Newcastle commuters and those wishing to use the popular Newcastle’s popular International airport. Durham is also right by the A1(M) motorway which is currently having a £220million upgrade to improve capacity and investment is also going into the railways for example a new train station was opened up in Horden on the East Coast in 2020. 

• Bishop Aukland

• Blackhall

• Chester-le -street

• Chilton

• Easington

• Haughton le spring

• Seaham

• Spennymoor

• Stanley

• Wingate

Much of Bishops Auckland’s early history surrounds the establishment of a hunting lodge which became know as Aukland Castle and was the main residence of the Bishops of Durham who for centuries were virtual rulers of a vast swath of land in the north-east of England..  Nowadays as part of the towns rejuvenation they have restored the spires and grand state rooms of Aukland Castle.  The £12.4 million restoration of the castle is part of the Auckland Project, an ambitious £150 million regeneration scheme that already includes the Mining Art Gallery and a viewing tower which are helping with the tourist boom in the area.

During the Industrial Revolution the town grew rapidly as coal mining took hold as an important industry.. Today the largest sector of employment in the town is manufacturing. 

is a quiet and charming market town and civil parish in County Durham, England with a population or around 24k. It is located 7 miles (11 km) south of Newcastle upon Tyne and 8 miles (13 km) north of Durham and 8 miles (13 km) west of Sunderland.  In 2016, The Sunday Times listed it as one of the best places to live in the north and north-east.

The town holds markets Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.  It is home to Lumley Castle which was built in 1388 which sits upon the eastern bank of the River Wear and overlooks the town and the Riverside Park and to Chester Burn viaduct. The viaduct to the northwest of the town centre was completed in 1868 for the North Eastern Railway, to enable trains to travel at high speed on a more direct route between Newcastle and Durham. Chester-le-Street railway station, on the East Coast Main Line of the National Rail network, between Newcastle and Durham, offers local connections and cross-country train services. 

Chilton is a town in County Durham with a population of about 4k.  It is situated a few miles to the east of Bishop Auckland and a short distance to the south of Ferryhill, on the A167.  There are regular bus services to Ferryhill, Spennymoor, Durham, and other towns and cities within the county, such as Hartlepool and Darlington.

Chilton has a primary school, two supermarket, a post office, a public house, a Sports and Social Club, an NHS healthcare centre, dentist, public library, two churches and a Catholic club that serves as a WMC as well as a polling station for the Sedgefield constituency at election times.  It also has four take-away restaurants and a convenience store.

There is a local recreation area with swings, slides and climbing apparatus and a skatepark plus a football ground and an all-night automatically lit basketball court.

Easington

Easington is another village on the east coast of County Durham with a population of about 7k.  Originally developed around the coalmines, Easington Colliery was the last pit to close on the Durham Coalfields in 1993.  It is located near the A19, which travels north to Seaham and Sunderland as well as south to Peterlee and Stockton-on-Tees.  It is only 2 miles from the new train station that has opened up in Horden in 2020. 

Horden railway station on the Durham Coast Line, runs between Seaham, Sunderland and Newcastle to the North and Stockton and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool. This train station has improved transport links, offering new commuting and leisure possibilities and providing further opportunity for economic growth.  Easington has a number of useful local shops and the nearby town Peterlee has a busy town centre with Castle Dene Shopping Centre with over 80 retail shops and services, including Argos, Asda, Boots, Iceland, Lidl, McDonalds and many independent retailers.  There are 22 schools rated good and 1 excellent in a 3 mile radius.

Ferryhill has a weekly Friday market in the Town Centre marketplace run by the Local Council Ferryhill Town Council. There have been many improvements including the award-winning Mainsforth Sports complex.  The Town has many community events including an annual summer gala, Christmas market, parading of miners banners, vintage car rally, art and photography exhibitions and many more. Ferryhill Carrs is a designated local nature Reserve at the eastern edge of the town.  There are two large Amazon Logistics Centres close by in Bowburn (5 miles away) and Darlington (14 miles away straight down the M1), which have created 1000’s of new jobs in the area.

The chair of Network Rail is also considering proposals to re-open Ferryhill railway station.  

Houghton-le-spring

Houghton-le-spring is situated almost equidistant between the cathedral city of Durham 7 miles southwest and Sunderland about 7 miles northeast and the pretty seaside town of Seaham is just 5 miles to the east. .  It has a population of around 36.7k.  
Houghton-le-Spring's main shopping area is Newbottle Street. The town has a good handful of shops, cafés and pubs, but if you want more choice, the lively shopping centres and nightlife of Durham and Newcastle are only half an hour away by car. Families can be reassured that the area has plenty of schools
Houghton Feast is an ancient festival held every October in the tow, the festival lasts ten days and typically features a fairground, carnival & fireworks.

Seaham

Seaham is a popular, lively harbour town on Durham’s Heritage Coast with a population of around 21.5k. There is a wide choice of bars, cafes and restaurants along the busy seafront, dramatic cliff top views, , beautiful beaches to relax on and home to one of England’s oldest churches. Dalton Park, the region’s biggest outlet shopping center is close by.

Seaham has one of the finest hotels and spas in the North at Seaham Hall. There are three local golf clubs, Seaham Harbour Golf Club, Seaham Golf Club and Sharpley Golf Club.

Seaham railway station is on the Durham Coast Line, which runs between Newcastle via Sunderland and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool.

Shildon

Shildon is a popular, bustling town in County Durham, with a population of around 9.6k. It is often voted on of the best places to live in County Durham.  The town centre has plenty of desirable amenities such as a costa coffee, post office and pharmacy with The Sunnydale leisure centre and Shildon Association Football club located close by.  Only 10mins away from Durham and is 2 miles from Bishop Auckland, Durham’s Market town which has a large shopping centre with Tesco’s and various other superstores. 

It has a train station that is served by an hourly service between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland via Darlington. All services are operated by Northern Trains.[5]
It is home to the popular National Railway Museum which holds an annual Shildon Steam Gala.

Stanley

Stanley is another great place to live, with a population of around 19.5k.  Just 20 minute drive from both Durham and Newcastle and 15mins from Chester-le-street train station, the area is popular with commuters.  The town's main shopping area, Front Street, is pedestrianized, housing independent shops alongside large chains such as Boots. A market is held on Front Street on Thursdays and Saturdays. There are also supermarkets such as Asda and Iceland located within the town.  Also an ex colliery town, refurbishment of Stanley town centre in recent years has seen the opening of a new solar-powered bus interchange. 

There are a number of primary schools in and around Stanley, plus a secondary school; North Durham Academy.  Stanley has its own swimming pool and leisure centre and close by there are some beautiful countryside walks starting from Stanley and three golf courses within a five minute drive.  The award-winning Beamish Museum is just down the road and attracts thousands of visitors each year.

County Durham’s Warm home scheme is actively Thermal enveloping properties in South Moor which is a village South west of Stanely, with schemes such as SWLI which fit external wall cladding to whole streets at a time to increase EPC energy ratings.

Wingate

Station Town a village in County Durham. It is situated to the south of Wingate, west of Hartlepool and is easily accessible by road via the A19 and B1280. Station Town is within the Blackhall ward/electoral division in the constituency of Sedgefield. Sedgefield’s is known for the fact that Tony Blair was its MP for a considerable time, during which time George W Bush visited Sedgefield with Tony Blair.

There a good selection of shops in the area including The Co-op, a butchers, Boots, barbers, takeaways.  Plus there is a primary school, libary, the beautiful St Edmunds Church and a nice pub.