High Wycombe is the best town for working from home - here's why

The criteria used by researchers who compiled this week’s survey for the property search agency included broadband download speeds, the number of cafes in the local area (for those with no space for a laptop on the kitchen table), average property prices in the area and the commuting distance from the capital.

If you have a job in London, Wycombe is sixth in this week’s best-location-to-work-from-home rankings. Slough is second. Top spot goes to Watford.

The results of the Zoopla survey coincided with news on Wednesday of a £2.1m scheme to improve broadband connections in Bucks.

More than 750 homes and businesses in out-of-the-way rural spots “will get gigabit-capable broadband” – speeds of 100 megabits per second in the coming months.

Already over 200 homes and business premises in Bucks have received a government voucher to help them install faster IT since the scheme was launched last year.

Those with speeds of less than a thousand mbps have been able to apply for vouchers worth £1,500 per home and up to £3,500 for each small to medium sized business.

On Wednesday this week Bucks Council announced it will be investing another half million to help hundreds more users get up to speed.

The maximum voucher has been raised to £3,500 for home workers and to £7,000 for small to medium commercial enterprises.

Vouchers will be distributed on a first-come, first-served basis until the initiative finishes at the end of March next year.

The local scheme is part of the government’s £200 million Rural Gigabit Connectivity programme.

It’s aimed at helping businesses and householders in remote rural areas invest in faster and more reliable IT.

The money to fund it will come out of a kitty created by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government for “shovel ready” projects in local authority areas.

Buckinghamshire Council leader Martin Tett says the timing of the scheme has critical importance.

“Good digital connectivity is essential for all residents and businesses, particularly now more people are working from home as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“It’s vital that we invest in excellent broadband for our rural communities.

“I believe this is what we are doing not only with the recently announced Buckinghamshire Rural Business Broadband project but also with the top-up to this voucher scheme.”

He emphasised: “It’s a fantastic achievement to have 96.4 per cent of Buckinghamshire premises with access to superfast broadband.

“We need to continue working to ensure that the final 3.6 per cent can benefit from the digital highway which is why we are investing £500,000 in this initiative.”

Digital services minister Matt Warman says it’s quick and easy to check if you are eligible for a voucher.

Full details on the terms and conditions and a list of local suppliers are on the website gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk.

Details of top-up funding for residents and business owners in Bucks will be on a website currently being developed. Tap in gigabitvoucher.culture.gov.uk/buckinghamshire.

“To level up the country, we want everyone to have access to fast and reliable broadband. I’m delighted to see Buckinghamshire Council working with us to make this happen,” says the minister.

He promises: “We will ensure rural areas don’t miss out on securing next generation gigabit speeds.”

n Number of homes selling within a week hit a ten year high this summer.

Rightmove says offers accepted between July 8 and August 31 for properties which had been on the market for no more than seven days were the highest in a decade.

The analysts put it down mainly to the stamp duty holiday.

Three bed semis were the star performers. One in five of those on estate agents’ books in Britain have been taking no more than a week to sell, some even quicker.

Compared with last year’s sales, double the number of four bedroom detached houses have found a buyer inside a week – 14 per cent, compared with seven per cent last summer.

Details of 200,000 sales agreed were analysed to find out the impact of the current stamp duty holiday, say Rightmove’s expert market analyst Miles Shipside.

Overall one in seven out of all the homes on the market during the two month period found a buyer within a week, compared with one in ten in 2019.

The agent warns: “Not every home sells. Price is key.

“There’s no point rushing a home to market without making sure it looks its best.

“However sellers do need to move more quickly than before because although we’re in unchartered territory with record activity it’s still likely that demand will start to soften as it always does towards the end of the year.

“The conveyancing log jam created by the pause and subsequent market surge means people [thinking of moving house] really do need to do so in September or October if they want to have a chance of completing with enough time to beat the stamp duty deadline [at the end of next March].”