CITY CENTRE residents are predominantly young, single people, and the centres cannot be made ‘family friendly’ places to live, according to the Institute for Public Policy Research.

Its new research examines the boom in city centre living in Liverpool, Manchester and Dundee.

City centre housing markets have seen huge growth and remain a good long-term bet, but a slowdown looks likely in the short term, says the report.

People living in city centres are twice as likely to be single, and around two thirds are aged 18 to 34 compared with a quarter nationally.

Half the people of working age living in Liverpool’s city centre are students. More than one third of working residents in Manchester and Liverpool city centres walk to work, compared with a national average around one in 10. There is a ‘conveyor belt effect’ in city centres, with most people staying only a few years. A third of residents move in or out each year, around three times higher than the national average.

The research also found that shops, leisure and nightlife were far more important than art galleries and concert halls.

The shape of the boom is striking:

• Manchester’s city centre population fell by 73% between 1961 and 1991 but grew by nearly 300% between 1991 and 2001, from 3,500 to a total of 10,000 people. The current population is estimated at 15,000 people.

• Liverpool city centre lost around half its population between 1971 and 1991, but the population grew around 40% between 1991 and 2001, from 10,000 to a total of 13,500 people. The population is now estimated at 15,000 people.
• Dundee’s city centre population almost doubled between 1991 and 2001, from 1,500 to a total of 2,900 people.

The report also talks about the growth of higher education during the 1990s, which brought thousands of students into city centres.

Total student numbers rose over 30% between 1995 and 2004 but by over 60% in Manchester and Dundee. Nationally, 20% of Britons live in flats but 62% do so in Liverpool and 78% in Manchester city centres. In Dundee, a massive 95% live in flats.

But the report observes that last year, investors became less interested in city centre buy-tolet, and that rents and sales fell. It concludes that city centre markets remain a good longterm bet.

Tom Bloxham, chairman of Urban Splash, said: “The city centre living phenomenon has been with us over 15 years now.

“But as city centres have recovered, many areas nearby have stayed the same. Regenerating these inner ring neighbourhoods is the big priority for the decade ahead.”

City People: City Centre Living in the UK, by Max Nathan and Chris Urwin, is available from: www.ippr.org/centreforcities