Once a small fishing village, Filey became the genteel maiden aunt of the Yorkshire coast in the 1840s when a Birmingham solicitor, John Wilkes Unett, purchased several acres of land and masterminded the construction of an elegant new town.

Nobility from all corners of Europe came to stay in the tall white houses and eponymous hotel of the Crescent, and to stroll in the clifftop gardens.

There are still independent outfitters and old-fashioned confectionery shops on the high street, but these days those pressing their noses against the windows are likely to be Boden-clad families from the smarter parts of West Yorkshire. A new seafront, decent restaurants and a general air of prosperity has seen visitor numbers and property prices take off. Securing a parking space by the beach on a sunny Sunday can provoke a diplomatic incident.

In central Filey there is just about every kind of property style, with chalet bungalows butting up against converted hotels and leafy avenues of suburban family houses immediately off the clifftop. Although traditionally a popular retirement spot, in recent years families from outside the area have arrived — the local secondary school, Filey School, has a good reputation. Locals tend to stay put and properties are snapped up quickly. Former guesthouses and holiday flat combos can be found for £175,000 and above. They have the potential to make spacious homes if you don’t mind living in chaos while the interiors are gutted.

A listed early Victorian townhouse just off the Crescent and divided into flats costs £225,000 (Nicholsons, 01723 512968). It could be a great communal seaside retreat for a group of friends.

Filey has always had “airs”, and because of the steep road down to the stunning beach it has never been invaded by fleets of coaches. In its understated way it is the most sophisticated of Yorkshire coast resorts, and the developers transforming the Ebenezer Chapel (pictured above) on Union Street are certainly aiming at the upwardly mobile. This 19th-century building is in the process of becoming t he Fisherman’s Chapel — 15 one, two and three-bed flats with mezzanine floors, internal balconies and exposed beams.

It’s the kind of full-scale regeneration project more usually found in Leeds or Manchester, and should set an example to tired seaside buildings everywhere.

• Prices start at £120,000 and phase one is available now. www.fileychapel.co.uk

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