Is this area in Burnley really terrible?

[Norberta]

My dad is venturing into properly development in Burnley and has found a would be family home to do up but he doesn’t know the area well. Is B11 a crap place to live or would it be desirable to a prospective family? Thanks mumsnetters!

I know someone who is from there but moved to London. He said is was a racist deprived area

Like a lot of places, there are good and bad within a postcode area.

That’s quite a big area assuming you mean bb11, can you narrow it down? What kind of tenants?

It’s on laithe st bb11 xx

Is it for the rental market?
It's not the worst area of the town

If he's doing it for profit then his business plan will lay out the requirements for research before investing money.

That almost certainly shouldn't include having a relative ask on Mumsnet for him

Is it the auction property? I don’t think it’s the nicest street/area in Burnley tbh

Nowhere in Burnley is MN naice. That area is not terrible but it's not that far from the roughest estate.

It's going to have the normal problems of a working class street in a poor town. You wouldn't want to live there if you were Asian.

I live in Burnley and know where this is, it's not the best area but also not the worst the outskirts of Burnley are probably the nicest areas. I've seen a massive decline in the area in the last decade but I suppose most northern towns are like this now.As he is just venturing into property he needs to be very careful with prospective tenants the minority unfortunately spoil it for decent tenants and people like your dad x

I live near Burnley. House prices seem to be average of £65k and rental average £525 pcm. If it's the House with the guide price if 15k+ then it does look ok. Do all your checks as you can tell from the Photos it had some sort of drugs set up going on.
Another poster is 100% right you wouldn't want to live here if you were Asian as it's nearly all white people.

Your father wants to become a property developer with no experience in a deprived town that he has never visited?
Develop and sell? Or develop and rent out?
Here’s a warning for him. This property last sold for £110k in 2022 ( https://houseprices.io/?q=Laithe+street%2C+bu). A lot of money, but it’s extended with a loft conversion, best house in the street, some mug has gone for it and let it out, unfortunately to someone who’s set up a cannabis farm.
Also, it’s already failed to sell at auction in December ( https://www.burnleyexpress.net/lifestyle/homes-and-gardens/burnley-property-auction-this-house-could-yours-for-just-ps20000-4413367 ). So everyone in Burnley knew this was at auction last December, all the builders, young couples, families, landlords and wannabe property spivs, and it still didn’t sell.
They just need some mug punter from out of town who doesn’t know the area to see it on Rightmove and think ‘That looks cheap. I could repair that and become a landlord! What a return on my investment ! What could possibly go wrong!’

Bb11 is most of Burnley which isn't all racist and declining by a long stretch. Laithe St isn't the best but it's okay, close to town but with some green spaces on Healey Heights. But he needs better intell than the internet will give if he's serious. If he goes there for a few days he'll get a better sense of the place and potential.

"Another poster is 100% right you wouldn't want to live here if you were Asian as it's nearly all white people."

Well, this country was all white people at some point, but it didn't stop the Aidan's moving here.

My question: Are these northern towns divided in area by race/colour? Or is that a thing in Burnley?

The ‘Aidans’ were actually invited here after the British did huge recruitment campaigns in Aidia due to shortage of labour here in the UK. Perhaps you need to move to Burnley?

@penjil There are predominantly Asian areas and predominantly English areas although there are more and more eastern European people living here, there are also a lot of houses 3 bed or bigger that have been turned into house shares. My neighbors are Asian and I honestly can say they are the best neighbors I've ever had they are extremely quiet and very community minded.

We have a rental property in Burnley and you need to hold a license in some areas to be a landlord which is a little cost and paperwork with DBS etc.

You need to go and see the areas and realise that sometimes there are issues with low cost rentals. For example our tenant sometimes doesn’t have income as he is on a zero hours contract so our rental payments can be erratic.

Burnley in general is fine, great countryside, etc. The natives are friendly, and there's a lot going on socially. And it's cheap to live here. When I lived in Burnley that wasn't a bad area, but that's a long time ago,and the exact area I used to live not far away has definitely come down in the world somewhat, though I think it's on its way up again a bit. Specific streets can have specific problems, though, just like anywhere. I think you'd need to go there on foot and get to know the streets involved, and talk to people.
You're not far there from Healy Heights, Scott Park, and Towneley Hall and Park, all of which I used to play in as a kid. (Nostalgia strikes)