YOU KNOW you have arrived in Hounslow when the shrieking of the aircraft
overhead becomes louder than the roar of the traffic. West of Richmond upon
Thames and right under the flightpath into Heathrow, Hounslow is inexorably
linked to the comings and goings at London’s biggest airport, soon to become
even larger with the opening of Terminal 5.
But living in Hounslow can have its advantages, especially for first-time
buyers. If you are trying to get on the housing ladder you can still buy a
two-bedroom apartment there for under £250,000, the 3 per cent stamp duty
threshold.
The airport is so much part of Hounslow life, with many residents working at
Heathrow or regularly commuting from there, that Barratt has renamed the
triangle between the M40 and M3 “London’s Heathrow Quarter” to help to sell
three huge new developments it is putting up in the borough. It is a lovely
bit of PR, high-lighting the advantages of living next to one of the world’s
busiest airports rather than the relentless noise and pollution that blight
the area.
But beyond the marketing froth, the label helps to give shape and unite the
pockets of regeneration going on throughout the main “villages” of Hounslow
– Isleworth, Brentford, Feltham and Hounslow town centre itself.
According to Barratt, the new offices, shops and leisure facilities, as well
as the homes that will come to this part of West London, are likely to rival
the regeneration of the Thames Gateway. The changes are badly needed.
Hounslow began to develop in the early 13th century along both sides of the
Great Western Road from London to the West Country. The area thrived because
it was close to Windsor, Hampton Court and London; in the early 20th century
prosperity came when factories started to line up along what became known as
“The Golden Mile”. Hounslow today retains its industrial feel but the money
appears to have gone elsewhere. At the centre there is a pedestrianised high
street that spills out of the Treaty Centre, a chunky red brick shopping
mall that could pass for a high-rise car park.
Outside, the high street offers up the usual mix of M&S, Boots,
Mothercare, Primark, Currys and a particularly swish branch of KFC with
ample seating. North of the high street there is a sprawl of “conveniently
situated” 1930s and late Victorian terraces and semis.
With the Piccadilly Line at Hounslow Central, the M4 and countless buses
whizzing everywhere, Hounslow is well connected. You can get to Waterloo in
half an hour on the train. And Heathrow is less than 15 minutes away. The
location, good transport links and affordable homes are what makes Hounslow
attractive to homebuyers. Prabhjot Singh, of Bairstow Eves estate agents,
says: “We get a lot of first-time buyers who work in the centre of London,
looking for homes under £250,000. But the area is also popular with
investors because of its proximity to West Thames College and Heathrow.”
Buyers outnumber sellers by three to one in Hounslow and the competition for
homes has helped to stoke up prices. Last year a three-bedroom mid-terrace
house might have sold for £250,000, against £270,000 now. But prices are
steadying and there is good value still to be had.
A ground-floor one-bedroom flat in an uninspiring 1970s block costs £155,950,
and a two-bedroom flat on the first floor of a more recent development
£230,000. Stretch to £245,000 and you might get a two-bedroom house. There
is quite a jump for an extra bedroom; three-bedroom 1930s semis come in at
£350,000. Anything Victorian carries a big premium. A five-bedroom
end-of-terrace costs £500,000.
Big housebuilders such as Wimpey are operating in Hounslow, and affordable
housing options are available in such developments as 661 London Road, where
studios cost from £150,000. But it is flats in Barratt’s Reflexion
development, just off Hounslow High Street, that seem to be unmatched in
scale and style and possibly price. The scheme has 334 flats sitting in a
steel and glass crescent on top of a giant 24-hour Asda supermarket. It is
part of the much larger Blenheim Centre, which is still going through
planning and is expected to provide 485 apartments including 151 affordable
homes.
Prices at the Barratt scheme, which opened to the first residents in December,
are higher than you would pay for the homes it overlooks. Costs start at
£231,000 for a slick one-bedroom flat and rise beyond £435,000 for flats
with three bedrooms. But Barratt is confident. “With the development of
Heathrow’s Terminal 5, interest in the area has never been stronger,” says
Adam Lawrence, Barratt’s regional chairman. “Reflexion in Hounslow, Axiom in
Feltham and our new Great West Quarter in Brentford are already attracting
homebuyers and tenants who travel extensively from Heathrow or who work in
aviation, its associated industries and in the hundreds of companies in the
Heathrow Quarter.”
People who live close to busy roads, train tracks and airports always say they
grow used to the noise. This appears to be the case for Hounslow residents,
who seem oblivious to the low-flying monsters. It is hard to imagine more
aircraft above West London with the opening of Terminal 5 next year but the
National Air Traffic Services is preparing for a million extra flights a
year by 2015. Anybody hoping to buy in Hounslow must be sure to check the
double-glazing before making an offer on a home.
Barratt, 020-8572 3668; Bairstow Eves, 020-8577 1840
FACTFILE
The average price of a one-bedroom flat in Hounslow is £186,430; the average
price of a two-bed flat is £220,310.
The average price of a flat in Hounslow in April 2007 was £190,000, compared
with £149,000 five years ago.
The average price of a local new-build flat is £259,900; in 2003 it was
£201,600.
52.3 per cent of the population in Hounslow is under the age of 35.
24.7 per cent of the population of Hounslow is Asian or British Asian; the UK
average is 4.5 per cent.
Figures from www.hometrack.co.uk
