British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak chose to visit Barratt London’s award-winning Hayes Village regeneration project last week (Thursday 27th July 2023) to announce an additional £200 million of Government funding for development of new housing on brownfield areas in the English capital.
Sunak was shown around the scheme, which has transformed a disused Nestlé factory site into high-quality homes, by Barratt Developments’ Regional Managing Director Gary Ennis, Barratt West London Managing Director Craig Carson, and Project Director Lee Greenwood. This is the second time that Rishi Sunak has visited Hayes Village, having previously seen it when he was Chancellor during the Covid-19 pandemic. At that time Hayes Village was yet to have any customers, whereas now the site is nearly half sold.
London continues to be a favourite location for Indian investors. Indian investors’ interest in London property is chosen purely for its perceived value as a relatively safe and lucrative investment. Rise of students coming across to the UK, market performance and consistency over the past few decades are some of the primary reasons why Indian investment in property is becoming increasingly common.
During his latest visit, Sunak announced that the UK Government would promote housebuilding in London, with the aim of putting more focus on making the most of brownfield developments close to London Underground stations. Hayes Village, which will ultimately include 1,473 new homes, nine acres of parks and gardens, a community centre, retail, office and leisure spaces and a new footbridge over the Grand Union Canal, is only a 10-minute walk from Hayes & Harlington station, which offers Elizabeth Line services to Bond Street in 20 minutes and Heathrow in less than 10 minutes.
Sunak said afterwards,“Home ownership is a dream everyone aspires to, and getting the keys to your own place is a special feeling. But for too many people, the dream of home ownership feels just like that – a dream. So, I’m stepping in to boost house building in the capital, including with £200 million of funding to drive densification and regenerate unused brownfield land. I met some of the people helping us make the dream of home ownership a reality for more Londoners.”
Barratt Developments’ Regional Managing Director for London and Southern, Gary Ennis, said: “It was great to take the Prime Minister around Hayes Village and show him what a wonderful scheme it is. He could clearly see how far the development has progressed since he last visited, and what an excellent example of brownfield regeneration it is, providing homes and commercial space on the same site.”
As well as meeting Barratt Developments and Barratt London staff, Sunak also found time to chat to some of Hayes Village’s happy new residents, Victoria and Ryan Adair who moved into their new apartment in December. Victoria said: “We absolutely love our new apartment and especially the high ceilings at Hayes.”
Homes at Hayes Village range from studio apartments to three-bedroom family properties, some of them set in elegant Art Deco former factory buildings, surrounded by parks and gardens planted with 250 new trees to explore, including fitness trails, outdoor gym equipment and play areas to improve health and wellbeing.
Like most of Barratt London’s major regeneration schemes, Hayes Village is also proving popular with overseas buyers looking for a home in London for work, as a home for children who are studying in the capital, or as an investment. With projected capital growth of 19% in the next five years and expected rental yields of up to 5.9%, the development offers great value for money, with new homes starting from ? 3.5 cr.
Barratt London’s regional partner, Benham & Reeves India, will be holding events in Mumbai on 19-20 August and Delhi on 26-27 August, where interested parties can meet members of the Barratt London team in person and find out more. The visit of Rishi Sunak, whose family originated from the Punjab and who is married to Indian-born heiress, businesswoman and fashion designer Akshata Murty, is bound to create even more enthusiasm among Indian investors to look at this top regeneration area in London.
