Press release

- Hillingdon tops ranking with strong house price growth, arrival of 5 Crossrail stations and access to 60 Green Flag parks

- Barking & Dagenham boasts lowest average house price at £312,288, while Wandsworth and Waltham Forest remain top for cheapest council tax

Affordable housing developer Pocket Living, which delivers new homes across the Capital for first-time buyers living or working in London, has analysed each borough to reveal the most accessible locations for city makers.

Pocket classes city makers as young, middle earning Londoners who contribute to their city, and for whom factors such as transport links, green spaces and costs associated with getting on the property ladder are all significant.

Following an analysis of a host of considerations*, including annual house price growth, access to Cycle Superhighways and Green Flag parks, as well as the number of train stations and bus stops in each of London’s boroughs, Pocket Living’s latest research reveals Hillingdon in west London as the most accessible borough. Havering placed in second, while Croydon, which will be London’s Borough of Culture in 2023, ranked in third position with one of the lowest average house prices, strong house price growth and access to almost 1,000 bus stops.

Ranking in 13^th place overall, Barking & Dagenham, scored highly for having the lowest average house prices across London, access to a Cycle Superhighway and an annual house price growth of more than 7% - making it a prime location for those looking to buy their first home in an area with strong growth potential.

For city makers looking to benefit from access to ‘Green Flag’ parks, which is the benchmark national standard for publicly accessible parks and green spaces in the UK, Hillingdon has the highest number of any local authority in the country, with a total of 60 award-winning green spaces. The City of Westminster, Southwark and Hackney, amongst others, also have access to a significant number of Green Flag parks.

Perhaps less unsurprising given its central location, Westminster also has the highest number of Underground and DLR stations, with access to 32, which will increase to 35 with the arrival of the Elizabeth line. Tower Hamlets and Newham currently both have access to 26 stations, with Brent following closely behind with 21.

Jenny Anson, Head of Sales at Pocket, comments: “Over the last 15 years, Pocket has provided new homes for Londoners across 18 of the Capital’s boroughs so it is interesting to see how well they now rank on the accessibility scale.

“Well-designed apartments and a strong sense of community aside, our residents want to live in areas that have good transport links across the city, whether that be by bike, tube, train or bus. Croydon, which ranked in 3^rd place, is home to our latest development, Addiscombe Grove CR0, which is just a 2-minute walk from East Croydon station which can transport residents to both Gatwick Airport and London Victoria in 15 minutes. This has been a real draw for those already reserving homes here.”

Pocket schemes are available to those living or working in a London borough who do not already own a property. All buyers must earn under the Mayor of London’s income threshold for affordable housing and additional criteria may apply for a set period of time.

Buyers own 100% of their property, but purchase at a minimum of a 20% discount to the local market.

Jenny adds: “With the average first-time buyer property in London now selling for over £400,000 according to the ONS, we’ve found that many of the city makers we speak to were feeling priced out of the capital before hearing about Pocket. This is why we work hard to deliver homes such as those at Harbard Close in Barking, where remaining homes start from £198,000, to help people take that first step onto the property ladder.”

Example developments

Addiscombe Grove, East Croydon, CR0

Ranked in 3^rd place

Prices currently start from £260,000

Pocket Living: 020 7291 3683 / www.pocketliving.com/projects/development/29

Addiscombe Grove in East Croydon has been designed by award-winning architects Metropolitan Workshop and offers one-bedroom discounted Pocket homes, minutes away from East Croydon Station.

All homes will benefit from access to a 9th floor landscaped communal roof terrace, 20th floor Nordic Garden and 21st floor Hidden Garden, each with fantastic views over south London and which are perfect for socialising and meeting neighbours. Other amenities include cycle storage and a residents' lounge, co-working space and wellness room, all equipped with Hyperoptic Wi-Fi.

Harbard Close, Barking, IG11

Ranked in 13^th place

Prices currently start from £198,000, with homes ready to move into now.

Pocket Living: 020 7291 3683 / www.pocketliving.com/projects/development/30

Harbard Close is just half a mile from Barking station with easy links into central London. Each of the 78 one-bedroom discounted Pocket homes benefit from well-designed open plan kitchen and living spaces, separate bedrooms and Juliet balconies. Residents also have access to secure bike storage inside the building, on-site allotment beds for green-fingered buyers, as well as a Garden Room, which is a communal space that is available free of charge for residents to use and includes dedicated co-working spaces and pods. It also has bean bags, electrical sockets and space to host events.

Table 1. London’s top 15 accessible boroughs for 2021, according to analysis from Pocket Living*