Where to find new homes in London in 2020: four fast-changing areas from Bermondsey to Lewisham and White City to Kensal Rise

The past decade saw phenomenal changes to our cityscape as transport links and wasteland regeneration created new homes and new communities for London’s fast-growing population.

Brexit may have put the brakes on much long-term planning yet, despite four years of uncertainty, London has clung to its status as a top international capital for culture, finance and technology.

Analysts say there has not been the feared mass exodus of big business from the City, which has actually seen consistent jobs growth.

“There will be 12 months’ adjustment but London will prevail,” predicts Nick Whitten, head of residential research for property group JLL. “The city creates and retains the best talent, has access to some of the world’s leading universities and has more than its share of 21st-century industries.”

In order to cope with the capital’s growing population, adding 100,000 Londoners a year, developers are breaking ground in new locations.

“Over the last 10 years regeneration schemes have been built around town centres and shops,” says Cushman & Wakefield’s Ian Anderson. “As the nature of retail changes, placemakers may reconfigure their build to create areas of parkland with the emphasis on healthy living.”

Here, Homes & Property takes a look at the capital’s regeneration hotspots to discover what they have to offer buyers seeking a new-build home.

Over the last decade the key centres of regeneration have been Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms, Barking Riverside, Stratford and King’s Cross.

However, “the ripple effect” will be a prominent feature of the next 10 years, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s Anderson.

“Rather than the concentrated original schemes, we’ll now see regeneration spread more widely. It won’t be about one inward-looking hub, but clusters of change.’’

Sprawling areas such as Old Kent Road, in desperate need of regeneration, will be pulled together to become more user friendly with new homes, shops, culture, an educational area and transport all linked by a masterplan.

A £10.7 billion redevelopment of the three-mile stretch of Old Kent Road from Bermondsey to Lewisham will bring 20,000 new homes, of which 7,000 will be lower cost, plus 10,000 new jobs, two extra primary schools and a secondary school.

“It’s the forgotten bit of central London,” says Richard Kalmars, founder of Kalmars estate agents. “As an investment opportunity it has unrivalled potential and is destined to outperform other parts of central London given its comparatively lower house prices.”

Construction is due to start on the transformation of the Cantium Retail Park into 1,113 new homes, offices, shops, restaurants, a cinema, a youth theatre and parkland. Prices are anticipated to start from £400,000 for a one-bedroom apartment in the Galliard scheme. Visit galliardhomes.com for details.

Developer Avanton has bought three sites along the road which will deliver 2,000 new homes in total.

Peckham Place is being built in Queens Road, off Old Kent Road, on the site of a bulldozed council estate. Flats in low-rise blocks are priced at £440,000. Call Notting Hill Genesis on 020 3815 2222.

For five years the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has been planning the creation of west London’s transport super-hub, where High Speed 2 meets Crossrail.

It’s London’s biggest regeneration scheme waiting to happen with 25,000 new homes and 65,000 jobs promised by 2030.

Controversy over the cost of HS2 has slowed proceedings and only last month the OPDC formally scrapped plans to acquire a second-hand car lot earmarked for 6,000 new homes — a transaction with its owner having held up redevelopment for years.

However, construction is due to start next month in one corner of the 1,600-acre area. Scrubs Lane, now site of industrial sheds and transport buildings, will be the first part developed by the OPDC.

Mitre Yard will comprise 241 rental homes, with a “large chunk” for London Living Rent apartments. On the other side of Scrubs Lane, the 210-unit North Kensington Gate is in the last stages of planning. Both schemes will comprise one-, two- and three-bedroom homes and are being built by City & Docklands.

The 85-apartment complex No.2 Scrubs Lane, designed by Stiff + Trevillion Architects, will come with commercial space, a new church, a nursery and community facilities. Thirty-five per cent of the homes will be lower cost, with 12 for London Living Rent and 16 for shared ownership. The site is currently owned by Fruition Properties.

Even without HS2, Scrubs Lane is a regeneration gem in its own right, according to City & Docklands boss Gary Sacks.

“It’s sandwiched between White City and Kensal Rise which is really gentrifying,” he says.

“There are plenty of places in London that 10 years ago you would not have walked around day or night. That transformation will happen at Scrubs Lane. That is what regeneration is all about.”

For those who want to buy now and benefit later from the improving area, the closest development is half-a-mile away in the White City Living scheme by design-conscious developer St James, part of the Berkeley Group.

The vast development will deliver over 2,300 homes when completed, situated in new parkland and opposite the Imperial College campus and Westfield shopping centre. Prices start from £1,040,000. Call 020 3811 2197 for more information.

Scrubs Lane runs into Wood Lane, home to the former BBC headquarters. Apartments in the converted Television Centre start from £790,000 through Savills. Call 020 3618 3777.

The first-time buyer has been the major player in the London housing market for the last five years. As a result the construction pipeline has been dominated by starter pads and studios.

“We must now build to reflect fundamental population changes,” says JLL’s Nick Whitten.

Sixty-two per cent of children are born to parents who are over 30 and by 2030 this will increase to 70 per cent, meaning fewer families will go on to have more children, he explains. This drives the need for more two- and three-bedroom urban homes.

Some developers are building for those young families with facilities on the doorstep within inner London.

St George’s 3,000-home Grand Union scheme in Alperton, Brent, has two-bedroom homes for sale from £540,000 and three-bedroom homes from £775,000.

On the 22-acre former industrial site, which straddles the canal, residents and locals will also have access to a community centre, health centre, a nursery, gym and bowling alley. Call 0808 1788 838.

Only last month the backers of the £3.5 billion Silvertown Quays development in the Royal Docks won planning permission from Newham council after 20 years of debate.

The 15-year scheme is expected to generate more than 20,000 jobs across the largely vacant site, while the first phase will bring 1,000 homes.

First-time buyers Keshav Barnwal, 34, and Ankita Jaiswal, aged 30, have bought a two-bedroom apartment in another part of the docklands — Royal Albert Wharf by Notting Hill Genesis.

The young couple believe they will benefit from the inward investment into their new and developing neighbourhood.

“It really is an amazing place to live. Our apartment and terrace overlook the River Thames, we can’t wait to make the most of it.”

Prices start from £385,000. Call 020 3815 2222.