Commuter homes in Bedford: new flats and family houses close to good local schools - within 45 minutes of St Pancras

Commuter towns within 45 minutes of the capital are expected to register big price gains this year. Most families after a manageable commute and a good-value home also want a quick dash to the station and an easy school run.

De Montfort Place, above, in Bedford, ticks these boxes. The county town is 35 minutes by train from St Pancras, at the end of the Thameslink route through London, and has a number of highly rated state and independent schools, plus easy access to lovely countryside.

The development, by Storey Homes, is less than a mile from the station. The town centre is getting a makeover, with a new station “quarter” and shopping precinct overlooking the River Great Ouse, while a former university campus barely five minutes away is getting a revamp, and a park has been created.

What was a run-down neighbourhood, albeit a conservation area, dominated by student digs and lecture rooms, is now one of Bedford’s best addresses with smart, good-value homes in new and refurbished buildings.

The area has the look and feel of a prosperous, tucked-away pocket in suburban Putney or Wimbledon — quiet and leafy, with aspirational, solid architecture — but the homes are far cheaper.

De Montfort Place includes three-storey, four-bedroom semis from £475,000 and flats from £185,000. Call 01582 742165.