Roughly 500 homes in Alnwick date from before 1918. Depending on what measure is used, and what area is considered, that’s about 20% of the town’s housing stock. The proportion across England isn’t very different (21% of housing dates from before 1918) and it is similar across Northumberland (22%).
However, there’s a more noticeable difference when we consider the value as well as the age of Alnwick’s historic housing.
Across England 32% of pre-1918 housing is in the lowest Council Tax band, while in Alnwick the proportion is 43% and in Northumberland the proportion is even higher.
Council Tax bands are notoriously out-dated. The value is based on the price the property would have sold for on the open market on 1 April 1991. That’s more than 30 years ago.
The measure might be flawed but it does highlight our reliance on a relatively large stock of terraced 19th century artisan housing.
Alnwick Civic Society 