Where to buy in the capital 2019: the top seven regeneration hotspots for London home buyers to watch

From new housing and upgraded high streets, to improved transport links, here are the key London areas to benefit from regeneration.
1/14

While nothing is certain in the world of London property, house hunters in 2019 are hoping their biggest investment will continue to hold its value through the Brexit years and beyond.

London house hunters in 2019 who are increasingly choosy about where they want to live could do worse than to follow the money — looking out for regeneration zones where millions of pounds are being poured in to build new homes, revive tired high streets and improve transport links.

We've pinpointed seven key London neighbourhoods where serious cash injections are making the future look bright.

From a transformation of the former Nestlé factory in west London to a regeneration kicked off by Londoners themselves, here are London's top areas to buy in now — and hopefully reap the rewards later.

Walthamstow's transformation

The London borough of culture 2019’s leading neighbourhood is set for a £200 million transformation, a regeneration that was kick-started by Londoners themselves.

The biggest change to the area is a makeover of The Mall, Walthamstow’s shopping centre, set to bring new shops and 450 new homes for buyers priced out of the more fashionable swathes of Hackney.

However it has come in for some criticism, as only 20 per cent of new homes will be earmarked for first-time buyers and renters.

The £200 million project will coincide with Transport for London building a second entrance to adjacent Walthamstow Central station.

There are also further plans for the Essex Brewery, a collection of 183 flats near St James Street station, and Walthamstow Gateway, a new square by the station with shops, cafés and flats and another 79 flats, plus further developments to bring shared-ownership homes and luxury flats.

Regeneration in Hayes

West London hotspot to watch Hayes is shrugging off its factory past and looking to a regenerated future with transport upgrades and big-name housebuilders moving in.

The UB postcode, only four miles north of Heathrow, offers fantastic value, where property is on the up in the area, and a fast commute to central London.

The biggest single scheme on Hayes’ horizon is the redevelopment of the old Nestlé factory into Hayes Village, a development with 1,386 new homes and renovated Art Deco site entrance, while the former EMI records building is being transformed with 642 new flats, restaurants, a cinema and a live music venue.

Great value homes in Acton

From £410,000: one-bedroom flats at Acton Gardens with stamp duty and legal fees paid on selected homes and Help to Buy available 

On the cusp of Zones 2 and 3, Acton offers great value homes for first-time buyers in particular.

Billions of pounds of investment is on its way with a promised transformation that will include the regeneration of council estates and the repurposing of everything from civic buildings to DIY stores. Thousands of new homes will be the result.

The biggest changes are happening at the South Acton Estate, a 52-acre estate that will eventually be home to about 8,000 people, where almost half the homes have been built or are under construction.

Acton is one of London’s largest suburbs, covering almost 18 square miles.

A new train station for Meridian Water

A regeneration of Meridian Water, just off the North Circular road in north London, will include a train station which will open in May, new homes and a live/work project for makers and creators.

The 210-acre regeneration zone will one day offer 10,000 new homes and work on the first phase of the development is expected to start next year.

Plans for the second phase are also being drawn up, which will include 300 new homes earmarked for Londoners otherwise priced off the property ladder and a communal workspace on the ground floor.

Furthermore, there will be an office complex with space for up to 900 new jobs.

Bromley's regeneration

The regenerating south-east London suburb where David Bowie was raised is a great-value bet for upsizers and first-time buyers.

The largest and most significant change to the area is a plan to build 400 new homes on a site just off Bromley High Street, a third of which will be aimed at first-time buyers and renters.

The scheme will also add new shops, restaurant and cafés along a public promenade and the four-year build will start next year.

Furthermore, a Grade-I listed Georgian manor house is being turned into 22 premium flats, while a new-build option for buyers is St Mark’s Square, 200 houses and flats which will be completed by the end of this summer.

Transformation of White Hart Lane

A £1 billion transformation of the area between the London Overground station and the new Tottenham Hotspur stadium, dubbed High Road West, is set to bring 2,500 new homes alongside new public spaces, parks, shops and restaurants.

Regeneration schemes in the shabby hinterland of The Lane will include more than 18,850 square metres of shops, restaurants and leisure facilities, plus a park, library and community centre.

The upgraded White Hart Lane station will benefit from a new entrance, ticket hall and forecourt. It has also been hinted that the station will be renamed Tottenham Hotspur in the club’s honour.

Paddington's new skyscraper

1 Merchant Square: at 42 storeys the so-called Blue Marrow will loom over west London

Plans for a 42-storey skyscraper with hundreds of new London Zone 1 homes has been approved by Westminster council. Thanks to its inky terracotta cladding, white ridges and distinctive curved profile, it has been dubbed the Blue Marrow.

Together with a second, comparatively diminutive 21-storey conventional-looking tower, the project is the final piece in the Paddington Basin jigsaw and the new buildings will together include 426 new flats, shops and a sky bar.

The finished £500 million Paddington Basin project will create just over 900 homes and 970,000sq ft of office space on an 11-acre site, served by an increasingly impressive and mainly independent range of cafés, restaurants, street food vans and open space.

For sale now are two-bedroom flats under construction at No. 3 Canalside Walk, a project made up of 84 waterfront apartments which are due to complete next year.