Where to buy in west London: new homes in Hayes, ex-industrial area set to be key Crossrail beneficiary

Crossrail to the City and Canary Wharf will bring buyers flocking to Hayes for great-value homes.
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Ruth Bloomfield30 January 2019

Once famous for producing Milky Bars and instant coffee — and not much else — Hayes in west London is shrugging off its factory past and looking to a regenerated future to polish up its urban sprawl.

There are transport improvements on the horizon and big-name housebuilders are already moving in.

Hayes, one of London’s lowest-profile suburbs, is way out in Zone 5 only four miles north of Heathrow.

But if you can cope with a “UB” postcode and the background hum of aircraft, it offers fantastic value, future potential, a swift commute and a property market that has remained on the up despite the slowdown across most of the rest of the capital.

Latest Rightmove data shows prices in UB3, covering south Hayes, have remained relatively stable over the past two years, rising from an average £318,000 in September 2016 to £340,000 in August last year.

In UB4 — north Hayes — the performance has been stronger, rising from £298,000 to £376,000 over the period.

A recent study by JLL property group suggests Hayes will be a key beneficiary of the Elizabeth line and the prospect of a third runway at Heathrow, and is likely to outperform the rest of the capital in terms of house price growth over the next five years.

The biggest single scheme on Hayes’s horizon is the redevelopment of one of its major industrial landmarks.

Sweet success: Hayes Village, the rebranded former site of chocolate maker Nestlé, is bringing 1,386 Barratt London homes linked to the Grand Union Canal by a mile-long public trail. The first homes go on sale this spring

Nestlé moved to Hayes in 1929, buying up a cocoa factory beside the Grand Union Canal to produce chocolate and coffee. Its Art Deco façade became a local landmark.

The factory closed in 2014 and at the tail end of last year developers Barratt London and Segro commenced their reboot of the 30-acre site with 1,386 new homes linked to the Grand Union Canal by a mile-long public trail. There will also be a coffee shop, while the Art Deco site entrance will be renovated.

A spokeswoman says the first homes at the site, rebranded Hayes Village, will go on sale in late spring, with the first residents due to move in early next year. The project will be completed by the end of 2025.

A selling point of the Nestlé homes is that they are a five-minute walk from Hayes & Harlington station. Trains to Paddington take from 18 minutes and an annual season ticket costs £1,744.

When Crossrail finally opens, Hayes will also get a fast link to central London, the City and Canary Wharf, opening it up to a new tranche of commuters looking for affordable homes within easy reach of the office.

BEATLES GOT THERE FIRST

The repurposing of another major industrial site in Hayes is well under way. The former headquarters of EMI records, where The Beatles’ albums were pressed, has been rebranded as The Old Vinyl Factory.

The 18-acre site is being transformed with 642 flats, new restaurants, cafés, a cinema and a live music venue promised along the main route through the site.

From £382,500: two-bedroom flats at The Boiler House, the latest phase of The Old Vinyl Factory in Hayes. Stamp duty is included

Also on the former EMI site is Fizzy Hayes, a build-to-rent development of 188 homes. These include 165 brand new flats and 22 three-bedroom townhouses, designed to appeal to families.

One-bedroom flats start from £1,340.

Work started in 2013. The first residents moved in last year and the commercial spaces are slowly filling up. There is a coffee shop, a climbing gym is due to open this spring, while the on-site cinema will open next year. The whole project is due to complete in 2023.

Prices at The Boiler House, the current phase on sale, start at £382,500 for a two-bedroom flat, stamp duty included.

LOTS OF GREEN SPACE AND GREAT INDIAN TAKEAWAYS

It is hoped the influx of new residents will breathe life into the tired-looking heart of Hayes. In the Thirties George Orwell lived in Hayes and described its centre as “godforsaken”.

Its current array includes chicken shops and Cash Converters, though there are enough banks, coffee shops, small supermarkets and off-licences for basic needs.

Darren Bailey, a partner at Hunters estate agents, agrees the high street needs a makeover.

“There is not much to do,” he says. “Hopefully this will change over the coming years, but at the moment there isn’t a Marks & Spencer or Waitrose, it is not that sort of market. It is not a wine bar sort of area either. There are pubs but they are nothing fancy.”

The £20 million Botwell Green Sports and Leisure Centre opened in 2010, upgrading local facilities, and you won’t go short of a good Indian takeaway because Coldharbour Lane is lined with them.

There is plenty of green space, with 63-acre Lake Farm Country Park just to the south and the huge Colne Valley Regional Park a couple of miles further west.

The Woodland Trust’s Gutteridge Wood is a proper London gem, particularly in spring when carpeted with bluebells.

Hayes also has a claim to fame. Major films and TV series, including The Imitation Game, Bridget Jones’s Baby and Killing Eve were filmed at West London Film Studios.

And for cultural life, Hayes offers the Beck Theatre for film, drama and music, plus the Open Air Theatre in Barra Hall Park, rebuilt in 2005 after a fundraising drive by local residents.

Buyers who want a house rather than a modern flat can find good value in Hayes.

Its streets are full of Thirties semi-detached houses with the occasional Victorian terrace thrown in, as well as plenty of very sad-looking post-war houses.

And while undeniably lacking kerb appeal, Hayes is hard to beat in terms of value. A four-bedroom family home would cost £500,000-£550,000, about the same as a two-bedroom flat in Zone 2.

Buyers could pick up a two-bedroom purpose-built flat in a modern-ish block for about £300,000.

The past year has been tough, says Darren Bailey, but he is “quietly confident” about the future, not least because Hayes is such good value for money.

“Buyers are more conditioned that the market has changed. The penny has fully dropped and there is lots of flexibility,” he adds. “There are some good prices out there.”