A SHOPPING centre might seem an uninspiring focal point for an urban regeneration project, but the redevelopment of Enfield town centre has been deemed a success and the suburban town is tipped as an attractive investment destination.

Enfield is London’s northernmost borough and one of its largest, with a population of about 280,000. Enfield Town, its centre, is a market town with a rich history, mentioned in the Domesday Book as Enefelde. Its market dates back to the 14th century and its street layout to the 16th century. Running through its centre is the scenic New River, a man-made waterway built to supply water to London in the 17th century. Enfield was also once home to the Royal Small Arms Factory, which produced the Lee-Enfield rifle. The factory closed in 1987 and the site was transformed into Enfield Island Village, a development of 1,300 flats and houses. In addition, the town centre has recently undergone a major redevelopment, centring on the Palace Xchange, the new shopping centre that was completed last year.

As a buy-to-let destination, Enfield shows promise. It has excellent transport links, with five stations: Southbury, Enfield Town, Enfield Lock, Gordon Hill and Enfield Chase. Travel time to Liverpool Street, King’s Cross and Islington is less than half an hour. The borough is also home to three campuses of Middlesex University, which is one of the largest in the UK and among the most popular for international students.

Enfield has other attractions, too. There are 115 parks, including Bush Hill Park and Trent Park, and green-belt restrictions have protected the borough from excessive development. “Although Enfield Town itself is a fairly built-up area, it is close to large areas of open farmland,” says Justin Burns, of Peter Barry estate agents. “You can be picking strawberries on the farms along Hadley Road within a five-minute drive.”

Prices are reasonable compared with Greater London – the average house price is just under £270,000, compared with a London average of about £355,000. “You should still be able to find a decent two-bedroom flat with outside space for under the £250,000 stamp duty threshold,” Burns says. First-time buyers can pick up bargains too. “We sold a one-bedroom flat in Enfield Town to a first-time buyer for £178,500 last month, and two-bedroom purpose-built flats would come in at around £220,000.” Fairview Homes has one flat remaining in its Carterhatch Court development, which is ten minutes’ walk from Enfield town centre. The flat, which has views of the New River, is for sale for £240,000. Young families can find three-bedroom houses for about £300,000: those on the Willow Estate are particularly popular. Townhouses in the Enfield Island Village sell for about £315,000. Three-bedroom semis range between £300,000 and £400,000, with Edwardian properties at the upper end of the scale. Those looking for four-bedroom properties can expect to pay around £500,000.

“For something with a bit of history, the Georgian houses on Gentleman’s Row are quite special,” Burns says. Gentleman’s Row faces Chase Green, where Henry VIII and Elizabeth I used to hunt. In general, the farther west you travel in Enfield, the higher prices rise.

Investors looking for new flats can snap up off-plan apartments for less than £200,000. St James Homes has recently launched Qwaterside, a 10½acre landscaped site that will eventually comprise more than 400 properties. Located at Enfield Lock, some of the flats and houses have views of Rammey Lake, many have balconies and terraces, most have secure parking. Later developments in Qwaterside will include a range of eco-homes with solar water heating, micro wind turbines and other green features. One-bedroom flats are selling now for £180,000 off-plan, while two-bedroom houses start at £265,000. Fairview, www.fairview.co.uk Peter Barry, www.peter-barry.co.uk Qwaterside, www.qwaterside.co.uk

FACT FILE

The latest Land Registry figures put the average house price in Enfield at £243,500, up from £150,500 in 2002, an increase of almost 62 per cent.

The growth in price of detached homes has been significantly slower. The average detached home locally now costs £442,000, up from £424,000 in 2002.

The average terraced house in Enfield is now just above the 3 per cent stamp duty threshold, at £250,300. The average flat price is now £176,700.

Enfield Town is famous for reputedly having the world’s first ever cash machine, which was installed in a branch of Barclays Bank in June 1967.

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