National Lottery-funded projects are acting as catalysts for residential development in previously run-down urban areas of Britain. The regenerative effects of these lottery schemes are attracting people back to these inner cities, developers say.
Millions of pounds raised by the National Lottery are being invested in prestigious public facilities, such as museums, art galleries, sports stadiums, libraries, science centres and communications links in cities and towns throughout Britain.
In response, a growing number of residential property developers are targeting those areas where the lottery money is being spent, to match rising demand for homes there.
Stephen Brazier, managing director of developer Taywood Homes, said: 'Our research indicated a strong correlation between cities which have received lottery funding for urban regeneration and a high demand for city-centre living in these locations.
'We therefore decided to modify our development strategy so that we could undertake development projects in the key cities which have benefited from lottery funding.' More than GBP2.5 billion (about HK$29.24 billion) of lottery money has been used to create 36 large-scale building and regeneration projects, each valued at more than GBP10 million, nation-wide.
London has been the largest recipient with 10 of these projects, with a combined value of GBP1.17 billion, including The Millennium Bridge, The Tate Modern Art Gallery and Somerset House.