Here’s a novel incentive to encourage people to buy a new flat in a run-down area. We’ve had concierges, gyms and cinema rooms before, but Airpoint, a seven-storey 255-apartment scheme carved out of an old printing works in Bedminster, a suburb of south Bristol, has something else to tempt purchasers — a running track on the roof.

“Living in a flat with no outside space can be dull, especially in summer. Going to the park makes you feel like a tramp. So an area on the roof where you exercise or just sit and read a book or have a barbecue gives a new dimension,” suggests George Cardale, of Savills estate agency, which is marketing the development.

The track is a neat touch that links the building’s history with its future. In the 1920s, the property’s 1,000 print workers had a netball pitch marked out on the roof, for use during their three 20-minute tea breaks each day. But exercise aside, there will be little else to remind buyers, who will start moving in during September 2007, of the scheme’s industrial heritage: once they’ve taken off their Nikes, they’ll return to flats that range from 500sq ft for a one-bedroom unit, priced from £115,000, to 750sq ft for a two-bed version, costing £145,000-£250,000.

They’ll be sitting on furniture supplied by Habitat and Lombok, part of a deal between the local developer, Firmac, and interior designer Scheme and Co, which has been commissioned to give the flats a chic, modern image.

About 70% of the 130 flats sold so far have gone to owner- occupiers, while the rest have been bought by investment buyers from as far afield as Saudi Arabia and Chile.

Airpoint is seen as pivotal to the turn-around of this scruffy suburb, a classic inner-city location badly in need of regeneration. Dozens of factories, brickyards, smelting works, tanneries and glassworks were built here in the Victorian era, spurred on by the close proximity of the South Liberty coal pit. The area’s population rose dramatically, from 3,000 in 1801 to 80,000 by 1885.

The area’s most famous factories, which provided more than 40,000 jobs in their heyday, were those of ES & A Robinson, a paper bag manufacturer, and WD & HO Wills, the cigar and cigarette company. Both factories were run down in the post-war years, by which time many terraces in “Bemmy” had been turned into rubble by the Luftwaffe. In the 1950s, a large number of council properties were built in the area.

Now there is a concerted effort to give Bedminster a makeover, with its second-hand car lots and warehouses seen as potential sites for development. A new Tesco store is set to open next to Airpoint in 2007, and Firmac is converting the nearby Robinson Building into 70 designer flats. Linden Homes is selling 22 new flats close by, and Hamptons, the upmarket estate agency, is about to put more on the market just up the road.

“About 2,500 new homes are built in Bristol each year at the moment,” says Cardale, “and the next area for significant development is south Bristol — Bedminster and the adjoining suburb, Southville. Airpoint’s success will encourage others to come in. The car sites and scruffier shops will go, and homes and prices will improve.”

There are no signs so far of demand dropping below supply. Knight Frank estate agency predicts that Bristol’s population will rise 11.2% by 2021, and the Hometrack price index reports price rises there of 0.7% last month alone. “Airpoint is part of the answer to that demand,” insists Cardale. “The city centre has been transformed — now it’s the turn of other areas.”

Airpoint properties are for sale through Savills (www.savills.com) and Ocean (www.ocean-estate.co.uk).

For further details, call 0117 953 0001 or visit www.airpointliving.com

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