Synergy Partnership
Bringing businesses together
Positively Ilfracombe
A better location, a better business
Please address the following before continuing
Location, Location, Relocation
For a lot of people moving to this region the primary personal motivation is to escape the noise, pollution and crime of their current location and exchange it for a quieter, cleaner, less stressful environment. It is understandably a growing trend and makes extremely good sense.
Why face the constant stress of living and working in major towns and cities, the crippling overheads, the long commutes, the high crime rates, the exorbitant housing costs – when there is an altogether better environment where none of these issues applies.
South Devon has already been “discovered” and property prices there have risen tremendously but North Devon and Ilfracombe in particular remain something of a hidden secret.
Yes, Ilfracombe is a great place to live and a great place to work. There’s no question of facing that daily battle on the M25 or M6, or congestion on the routes into major towns and cities, if you are located here. Though it has to be said that everyone grumbles about the traffic in Barnstaple, the main town of the region, but again the minor delays there are insignificant when compared with other areas. Instead of myriad high rise buildings, multi-story car parks and sprawling housing developments, in Ilfracombe there are views of the sea, fields and the surrounding hills from virtually every vantage point.
Ilfracombe is a town of just under 10,000 residents – large enough to offer the facilities of banks, building societies, estate agents but small enough to have escaped mass redevelopment. Whilst there are several somewhat incongruous modern housing developments, Ilfracombe has a wealth of period properties, many of them architectural gems. Georgian terraces, Victorian villas and more than its share of listed buildings. Pick any one of them up and place it in, say, West London or Bath and it’d be worth £800,000 – but here you could shave off 60 per cent or more. Some of the larger properties, it has to be said, have suffered from years of neglect but with sensitive restoration many have been brought back to their former glory by caring new owners.
In common with many other British seaside towns, Ilfracombe had a glorious past and enjoyed the patronage of countless wealthy visitors.
It also had its own railway station before Dr Beeching saw fit to close it. This and the emergence of low cost package holidays overseas, led to a significant decline in visitor numbers and tough times for those whose businesses and jobs were reliant on tourism. It is really only in the last ten years or so that visitor numbers have begun to rise and appears principally to be because the average family now takes more than one holiday a year and has rediscovered the attractions of Britain’s coastline.
These days increasing numbers of British consumers choose to come to the West Country and the region as a whole is the most popular destination in the UK. The knock on effect is an upsurge in demand for hotel and guest house accommodation, holiday cottage rentals, camping and caravan pitches. Frankly there is nothing we’d rather see more than No Vacancy signs outside hotels and guest houses !
With the coastal path on our doorstep, a scenic harbour as the focal point, the sandy beaches of Woolacombe, and the wide expanse of Exmoor a few short miles away, Ilfracombe is a great place to be. Imagine leaving your office at the end of a summer day and strolling down to the harbour. Being able to walk to work and back (OK, the hills take some getting used to !) Having a garden which sees no more than a few frosty mornings a year and is full of semi-tropical plants which you’d never imagine could thrive year round outside…..
Understandably, during the summer months dozens of visitors are to be found gazing in the estate agents’ windows. What most see is a town offering a wealth of property bargains compared with other areas. For some the simple equation that their three bed shoe-box on the main road in a high crime area where their kids can’t be allowed out alone …. converts to a much larger house in a quiet, scenic location in Ilfracombe.
For many, there would be also be a significant reduction in mortgage borrowing which, on the face of it, seems as good a reason as any to pursue the dream. Of course, it isn’t as easy as that and we would be wrong to focus wholly on the upside. Many visitors end their holidays wistfully accepting that it would be imprudent for them to take the idea of moving here any further.
Those that do their homework by looking at job availability, in the local press and in the job centre, are quickly disillusioned. Well paid work is thin on the ground and competition is high. Most of the jobs that are on offer are either seasonal in the catering or hotel trade, or poorly paid, or both.
Of course, some people do take the plunge and move to Ilfracombe without having secured jobs and some do make a go of it. Many more, however, leave having found it impossible to secure an adequate source of income. Whilst not wishing to actively discourage those who will be reliant on finding jobs if they decide to move here, we strongly recommend that they realistically appraise their ability to support themselves on typical “Devon” wages before making what could be a very costly mistake.
By far and away those most likely to succeed here are those who bring their businesses with them, are in a position to buy a business, have the funds to start one or have sufficient capital or investment income not to have to concern themselves with making a living.
Relocating with your business
It is the primary aim of this website to attract more businesses to the town. With more businesses there will be more job opportunities which will, in turn, lead to a more buoyant local economy and benefit everyone.
There are many types of business that can flourish here and bring important job opportunities with them. There are also many high potential development opportunities in what is most definitely an up and coming town.
So why consider relocating your business to Ilfracombe ?
What Ilfracombe offers is a far better quality of life which in turn leads to much higher productivity. There is a vast pool of prospective employees, low overhead premises, and all the facilities needed to establish a successful business. It is an ideal base, for example, for businesses engaged in:
- publishing
- research
- marketing services provision
- call & contact centre's
- catalogue & home shopping
- website & graphic design and internet application development
and also offers those engaged in light manufacturing, processing and packaging with highly accessible, low cost industrial space.
Business premises
At Mullacott Cross Industrial Estate situated just off the A361 outside the town, there are industrial and workshop units for lease and there is land** which has been specifically set aside for the development of new business premises and is available freehold. (**owned by DDC who can provide more detailed information).
There is also a small industrial estate at Hele, on the road towards Combe Martin, where the NDDC owns several small workshop units.
Other than that the vast majority of commercial premises are shops, hotels, pubs, guest houses and nursing homes.
Office space is admittedly in short supply in Ilfracombe though there are some small offices in the High Street and Church Street areas at rents low enough to astonish those coming from other areas. Permission for change of use from retail to office would not normally be difficult to obtain. Permission to adapt space within residential property can also be obtained subject to location, access, potential nuisance to other residents etc..
There are always hotels coming onto the market, some with planning for conversion into flats, some which could potentially lend themselves to conversion into office space (STPP).
The best advice we can offer to anyone seriously looking at the possibility of relocating their business to Ilfracombe is to make contact with local estate agencies that handle commercial properties, with the NDDC and the South West Regional Development Agency. You will find these listed in the resources section of this website.
getting started
Why choose ilfracombe?
Want to hear about the benefits you and your company can gain from relocating to Ilfracombe in North Devon? Then read on...
News >
Ilfracombe news and nearby areas, here you can find great news related articles on business and tourism just to name few.
Find a property >
Looking to move you or your company to Ilfracombe or Devon? Find properties to buy or rent.
Local recruitment >
Find jobs, advertise vacancies and check out local agencies.
Local Events >
The latest and up and coming events for Ilfracombe and the surrounding area.
Local Classifieds >
View local classified advertising, and post your own advert into us
