Where to buy a home along the Elizabeth line: Hanwell will see largest reduction in journey times of any station along the Crossrail route
Hanwell, often overshadowed by its bigger, louder and better-known neighbour Ealing, will enjoy the largest reduction in journey times of any station along the line. Services to Tottenham Court Road will take just 15 minutes.
According to Knight Frank, prices in Hanwell increased 71 per cent between 2009 and 2015 and there are new homes on the horizon, including options for cash-strapped first-time buyers.
But unlike other regeneration zones, Hanwell is an established neighbourhood in its own right, so those buying into the area won’t have to wait for coffee shops and bars.
“Hanwell is a lovely area,” says Ben Plunkett, sales manager at Dexters estate agents. “It has got a really good community feel. A lot of people have grown up here and because there are good schools, when people move in they then tend to stay. We also get a lot of families moving in.”
Hanwell also hosts the annual Hanwell Hootie, the capital’s largest one-day free music festival, held each May.
Take a walk along the Grand Union Canal, enjoy a pint and Sunday roast at The Fox pub, or hang out in one of the independent cafés, pubs and restaurants in “Old Hanwell”.
There are plenty of local shops and Hanwell is handy for the bars and restaurants of Ealing Broadway and cute cafés and bistros in Pitshanger Lane, as well as Pitshanger Park. The Bunny Park, closer to home, is a popular Hanwell petting zoo.
This solid Victorian area has streets of mostly Victorian and Edwardian terraces, augmented by some Thirties houses and purpose-built blocks.
While not cheap, it is affordable by west London standards. Plunkett says a two-bedroom flat in a period conversion would cost from £400,000 while a three-bedroom Thirties semi would cost £550,000 to £650,000.
TALKING REGENERATION
Regeneration is active here. Hanwell’s ageing Copley Close estate is being regenerated by Broadway Living, part of Ealing council, which earlier this year gave itself planning permission for the latest phase of this ambitious project: 202 more homes, 66 of them affordable.
Work on building around a landscaped square starts early next year. There are homes at Copley available for private sale, rent or shared ownership, so there’s one to suit your lifestyle needs.
Ealing council seems to be taking a proactive approach to seeking out sites for new homes. It has teamed up with housebuilder Hill on a project called Ealing Hill, with houses and flats being built on publicly owned infill sites borough-wide, including in Hanwell.
Just launched are two five-bedroom family houses in Browning Avenue, on sale with Hamptons International for £930,000,
FIRST-TIME OPPORTUNITIES
In January, housing association A2 Dominion won planning permission to build almost 300 new homes in buildings designed by Assael Architecture, in busy Boston Road.
About a third will be “affordable”, ring-fenced for first-time buyers and renters pushed out of the area by rising prices. There will also be office space and a handful of shops.
Even after planning permission is granted, there is considerable red tape to deal with on a project of this size. However, if work starts this year it is likely that the first homes will go on sale during 2020 or 2021, with the entire site completed by about 2022.
Hanwell does have its drawbacks. Unlike Ealing its nightlife is confined to neighbourhood restaurants and pubs, while it lacks the amenities, such as a good cinema, theatre or market, that might turn it into a “destination”.
However, Dexters’ Ben Plunkett feels Crossrail will change all that.
“It is already a popular place, and I think we are going to find more and more people investing in the area once Crossrail is up and running,” he says. “Hanwell is the next in line. A direct line to the City and Canary Wharf will really open it up to a different clientele.”
SHARED OWNERSHIP HOMES IN HANWELL
Copley appears to have been a hit with buyers. The first tranche of homes sold out at prices starting at £339,000 for one-bedroom flats up to £600,000 for three-bedroom houses, and their owners are now settled in.
They include Ed Asta, who grew up locally but found himself priced out. So the 33-year-old, a video content manager at an international news agency, bought a one-bedroom flat at the development on a shared-ownership basis.
Asta wanted to stay close to family and friends, and also believes buying in an area that will benefit so greatly from Crossrail will be a smart move.
He bought a 57 per cent share of his flat — which had a full price of £350,000 — with a deposit of £40,000. He pays about £750 a month mortgage, rent of £250 and service charge of £150, bringing the total cost of the property to £1,150 a month.
“I bought my apartment off-plan and was very impressed by how spacious it is for what I paid,” he says. “This apartment is finished to a really high standard.”
Asta will have to put up with living on an evolving site. Work on the £100 million regeneration project will continue until “at least 2025”.
When complete there will be 834 homes on the site, plus a “residents’ hub” — council-speak for a community centre.
There will also be some basic shops, including a convenience store and a coffee shop — not much for a community that will eventually number well over 1,000 residents.