Harrogate street named most expensive in Yorkshire

Research from Lloyds Bank has shown addresses in the ‘golden triangle’ - between Harrogate, Wetherby and north Leeds - remain a shining beacon for those who aspire to have it all. Eight out of the top 10 areas where property prices are highest fall within the geographical area.

Andy Hulme, mortgages director at Lloyds, said: “All of these areas have outstanding homes, excellent schools, good shopping facilities and are close to the countryside.”

With an average price tag of £1,152,000, homes in Rutland Drive, part of the Duchy estate, are perhaps beyond the budgets of most homebuyers.

But property experts say that homes in Yorkshire’s most desirable address rarely come on the market - and when they do they are snapped up almost immediately.

Ben Furnell, a valuer at the Harrogate branch of estate agent Manning Stainton, said: “They don’t really go up for sale at all. Its appeal is that it is one of the finest examples of traditional Harrogate, there are Victorian properties which are part of the original spa town.

“Access north and south is quite easy from there. You can enjoy a very peaceful life with tree-lined surroundings but you’re not a million miles away from civilisation.

In recent years an increasing number of homes have been separated into upmarket apartments.

“The standard is generally very good. A three-bedroom apartment recently sold there for £450,000,” added Mr Furnell.

Businessman David Edgar bought his house 19 years ago and lives there with his wife and three children.

He said: “They are large houses with large gardens in the ideal location - a short walk from town. The Duchy (estate) is the best place to live because it’s also close to the country.

“Harrogate a beautiful spa town in the wonderful county of Yorkshire. It’s got everything.”

Any unneighbourly connotations carried by the ‘millionaire’s row’ moniker are misleading, inists Mr Edgar.

“There is a very strong sense of community,” he added.

“It is not an unfriendly place where people don’t say hello to one another. People who live here really care about the area and their houses.”

While data from Lloyds proves Yorkshire has an abundance of desirable postcodes, nowhere in the north of England appears on the top 50 most expensive streets in the UK. London, particularly the boroughs of Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, and other areas of the south dominated the list, compiled using Land Registry data on house prices.