The Grand Union Canal in Hayes
(Picture: Adrian Lourie)Once famous for hit records, baked beans, and jars of instant coffee, billions are being spent on the rebirth of Hayes & Harlington which is currently the cheapest area on Crossrail’s western section.
Its factories, warehouses, and car parks are being repurposed as new homes in developments like The Old Vinyl Factory, where 642 new homes are being on the 17-acre former home of EMI records which is less than a ten-minute walk to the station.
This £250m-plus scheme was given planning permission back in 2011, and since then around 500 homes have been built (or are under construction) along with new office space and a climbing centre has been built.
Weston Homes is one of the developers working on the site. Flats at its 181-home, £70.5m site, The Venue, start at £349,995, and the first residents have moved in.
Meanwhile, the Art Deco former Nestle factory in Hayes is being rebuilt as a 1,386 home development by Barratt London. The development, Hayes Village, will also include open space, workspace, walking and running tracks, and 300m of Grand Union Canal towpath. The factory’s original canteen building will be refurbished as a new community centre. Prices start at £375,000 for a one-bedroom flat and £462,000 for a two-bedroom flat. This development is due to complete by 2028.
Crossrail journey times
Hayes & Harlington to Heathrow: 8 minutes
Hayes & Harlington to Bond Street: 46 minutes (including interchanges at Baker Street, Paddington)
Hayes & Harlington to Canary Wharf: 37 minutes (including interchange at Paddington)
Despite all this activity, Hayes isn’t being turned into a dormitory for people who work in central London. Many well-known companies, notably Heinz, United Biscuits, and West London Film Studios, which is favoured by the likes of Marvel and Netflix, remain in the area to provide local job opportunities. More recently they have been joined by upscale audio firm Sonos, and technology companies GoDaddy and SITA.
Beyond new homes Hayes has plentiful green space to offer; Lake Farm Country Park and Minet Country Park and the Woodland Trust’s Gutteridge Wood, a proper London gem, particularly in spring when carpeted with bluebells.
There is a sports centre, a stylish open air theatre in Barra Hall Park (which, incidentally, is where some of the football scenes were shot in Bend it like Beckham), and its high street, Coldharbour Lane, whilst not glamorous, has all the everyday shops you need. Uxbridge Road is an absolute must for lovers of Indian food, while parents are attracted to Hayes by its high performing schools.
Because of all this prices in the area performed strongly during the pandemic, up 9.9 per cent.
Abrar Al-Habtari, 25, and her boyfriend Mohammad Amro, 30, bought into Hayes in October, when they bought a £315,000 one bedroom flat at yet another new development, NewHayes. Abrar, a project manager, was already living locally while Mohammad, a purchase manager for a wholesale food company, moved over from Perivale.
Average house prices since work on Crossrail started
2012: £221,869
2022: £380,438
Growth: 71 per cent
Source: Hamptons
Hayes was a convenient choice for the couple — close to their workplace and their families. Crossrail was another inducement. “We will be able to get into London in only 20 minutes which is just amazing,” said Mohammad.
“It is a beautiful area too. There is not too much traffic, it is very clean, and everything is easy – there is everything you need here.”
The couple are also hopeful that all the new development on the horizon will encourage price growth making their first home a great investment for the future.
The future for Hayes & Harlington
Work on The Old Vinyl Factory will continue until around 2025 When complete it will also include more homes, a four screen cinema, and a workspace complex.
Meanwhile, work on another 331 flats at the NewHayes development on Pump Lane is well underway too, with completion expected next summer/2023. Prices start at £290,000 for a one bedroom flat and £435,000 for a two bedroom home.
And new projects are being greenlit on a regular basis. In March plans to demolish a section of the postwar Hayes Town Centre Estate and rebuild five blocks containing up to 500 new homes were approved by Hillingdon Council. The council is now consulting residents of Hayes’ Avondale Estate about a regeneration there.
In February, Greystar Real Estate Partners, a north American build-to-rent specialist, lashed a reported £26.5m for an industrial estate in Hayes, and plans to build around 400 rental flats on the site by 2025.
And housing association A2 Dominion has planning permission to build 400 homes close to Clayton Road although currently there is no start date available. When built air source heat pumps and solar panels to help power the building through renewable energy, cutting heating bills, and the apartments will have great views directly over the canal.
