The UK's top DIY hotspots
It’s official, Norwich, the city famous for Colman’s mustard, Alan Partridge, and Admiral Insurance, is the UK’s DIY capital!
That is according to research conducted by The Metals Warehouse, the UK’s leading supplier of custom-cut metals.
Its data has shown that the East Anglian city, which is also renowned for its ‘on the huh’ phrase, a Suffolk saying meaning something is wonky or lopsided, has a whopping NINE DIY and home improvement stores to serve its tiny 130,000 population - averaging out at one store per 15,000 people.
The research takes into account the UK store locations per 100,000 people for the B&Q, Screwfix, Wickes, and Homebase brands.
And while Norwich tops a list of 100, the top 10 locations are made up of Chesterfield, Fareham, Exeter, Newport, Gloucester, Cambridge, Woking, and Stoke.
It is clear, however, that there isn’t much DIY taking place in Bolton. Statistics show that the Greater Manchester town has a mere TWO stores to serve it’s near 300,000 population, leaving it hanging on to the leaderboard by a tac.
In fact, Bolton is joined by Lewes, Scarborough, Mansfield, Lisburn, Newcastle-Under-Lyme, Eastleigh, Middlesbrough, Horsham, Canterbury, St Helens, Portsmouth, Merton, Solihull, and Rotherham as the only UK locations to have fewer than three DIY stores in the top 100.
Incredibly, the Isle of Wight also only has two home improvement stores to shout about across its whole island - that is a stark contrast to the city of Birmingham, which boasts an eye-popping 15 shops - albeit to share across a population of more than one million people - a figure eight times larger than that of the Isle of Wight.
During August, The Metals Warehouse also revealed some of the more innovative ways UK DIY pros have been using custom-cut metal to complete those mundane home tasks during the recent lockdown.
These include:
Stainless steel sheets for drain covers, oven splashbacks, and firepits
Aluminium treadplate for vehicle cladding
Stainless steel tubes to create your very own water feature
Diameter bars replacing the traditional garden trellis
