ACCORDING to industry experts, Worcester is fast becoming one of Britain's property hotspots.

As we report on Pages 2 and 11 today, housing developments are starting up all over the city, with apartments being built in The Tything, The Butts, City Walls Road, New Street and, most significantly, in the Diglis area.

Combined with University College Worcester's plans for the former Castle Street infirmary site, the £50m regeneration of Lowesmoor and the imminent opening of the High Street's Cathedral Plaza development, the Faithful City is undergoing significant change.

Work begins today on the former Worcester Royal Porcelain Albion Mill development, which will see 66 luxury apartments with canalside views.

This, along with the other projects planned for Diglis Basin, including more homes, cafs and a park, has the potential to revive the area in the same way Brindley Place has revived part of Birmingham's city centre.

There is a note of caution, however. Luxury apartments are all very well, but for a young couple considering buying their first property, they are more a fantasy than a reality.

Planners and developers must make truly affordable homes central to their projects, so all Worcester people can benefit from the Faithful City's renaissance.

In the case of Diglis, this would mean - at last - a thriving waterfront location of which we can all be justifiably proud.