Hanwell is now just 30 minutes from Tottenham Court Road, even with extra time for interchange at Paddington
(Picture: Daniel Lynch)Hanwell is in line to be one of Crossrail’s biggest beneficiaries, with the biggest reduction in journey times to central London of any station along the line.
And there is plenty to like about Hanwell beyond its good commuting times.
It has its own annual May music festival, the Hanwell Hootie, which is the largest free music event in the capital, lovely walks along the Grand Union Canal, and a clutch of cute independent cafes in Old Hanwell.
The whole area is teeming with greenery, from Churchfields Recreation Ground to the Brent Valley Park.
Katie Owen moved to Hanwell back in 2013, with her husband and their two boys, now aged eight and ten. They had been living in Forest Hill but wanted to swap to west London to be closer to family and work.
“We knew Crossrail was coming but at that point it did seem a long way away,” said Katie, 45. The family was able to upsize from a three bedroom terrace to a five bedroom Edwardian semi. “At the time, because Hanwell wasn’t on the tube, you got a lot more for your money than you did in Northfields and Pitzhanger, which we also looked at,” said Katie, who traded a job in finance for founding Sargasso & Grey, selling luxury wide-fit shoes shortly after the move.
When she arrived the go-to local spot was The Fox, a gastropub close to the River Brent in Old Hanwell. It has since been joined by a clutch of new pubs – Katie recommends The Green W7, on Lower Boston Road, and the King’s Arms on Uxbridge Road. The village has also got plenty of cafes — although, as yet, no really great local restaurants have emerged.
Crossrail journey times
Hanwell to Tottenham Court Road: 30 minutes (includes eight minutes for interchange at Paddington, until May 2023)
Paddington: 17 minutes
Heathrow: from 13 minutes
“What I really like about Hanwell is how green it is,” said Katie. “I go running a couple of times a week and you can easily do 5k without meeting any cars — it feels like you are in the countryside.”
Before Crossrail, Hanwell’s property scene primarily consisted of Victorian and Edwardian houses and period conversions.
New developments since then include the newly completed Hanwell Square, almost 300 flats, plus shops and cafes set around a public square.
And Hanwell’s ageing Copley Close estate has been the focus of a long term, ongoing £100m redevelopment which will create more than 800 new homes by around 2025.
Over the past two years prices have grown just over ten per cent.
Average house prices since work on Crossrail started
2012: £354,903
2022: £586,463
Growth: 65 per cent
Source: Hamptons
Robin Innes, sales and new homes manager at Doyle Sales & Lettings, has been selling homes in Hanwell for 16 years. “Over the past couple of decades prices have quadrupled,” he said. Nowadays buyers can expect to pay around £700,000 for a three bedroom terrace or around £450,000 for a two bedroom flat. Brand new two bedroom flats come in at closer to £520,000.
For renters a two bedroom flat would cost around £1,450pcm to £1,500pcm.
Innes agrees that Hanwell still looks much the same as it did back in 2012 – there has certainly not been a Stratford-style metamorphosis. But, he said, signs of investment are gradually showing. “There are a lot of smaller developments which are making the place look a lot tidier and nicer to look at, although the shops do still look tired.”
The future
With Copley Close’s rebirth well underway Ealing also has plans to regenerate another tired estate, the post war prefab High Lane Estate, with more than 450 homes due to be completed by around 2027.
Locals fought off plans to use the Warren Farm nature reserve as a training ground for Queen’s Park Ranger’s football club. But its sports pitches are dilapidated, and Ealing Council has begun consulting on how they should be upgraded, whilst simultaneously preserving its wild open spaces beside the River Brent.
