Benefitting From A Spacious Family Home During Lockdown

Greidy Perez was living in a two-bedroom apartment in Bromley, south-east London, that she purchased in 2015. Having had her son, Marcelo (now three-years-old), she decided to head for the countryside in search of a healthier upbringing for her child. After selling her apartment on the open market, she purchased a three-bedroom semi-detached home at Barratt Homes’ Wychwood Park development in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, and hasn’t looked back.

Greidy (38), who works in accounting, said: “Living in Bromley was fantastic before I had Marcelo, as I was close to London and right in the heart of the town. However, I quickly realised that living in an apartment was unsuitable once Marcelo was born. I wanted more space and a garden, which just wasn’t achievable in Bromley so I decided to look south.

“I found Haywards Heath after looking for countryside locations with direct connections into London. It was an easy decision to make, as the area ticks all of our boxes – we have the South Downs on our doorstep, the south coast is around half-an-hour away, and yet London is accessible by train if we need to go to the city. I’m also now only a half-hour drive from work in Horley.”

Greidy is confident that she made the right decision in relocating her family, and was able to enjoy lockdown as much as they could more thanks to their spacious new home: “Lockdown would have been unbearable in a small apartment with a child – my mother also lives with us, and there would have been no breathing space at all. We are so grateful that we spent our lockdown in our spacious new home. Not only did we have a garden to enjoy and for Marcelo to play in, we were able to enjoy lovely walks locally and explore. We feel very safe here – leaving the city was the best decision we made.”

Lynnette St-Quintin, sales and marketing director for Barratt Southern Counties, commented: “As we were all restricted to our own four walls from March as the pandemic took hold, 2020 has given us all a period of reflection, and where we live is just one of these strands of thought. In many typical scenarios, we live near work or near transport that allows us to get into work quicker, therefore living in denser areas to have access to these conveniences. But what lockdown has shown is that for those who can, we are able to work more remotely in part and in the long-term it is likely that this will remain the case.

“This realisation, combined with financial incentives like Stamp Duty savings, will explain why new homes sales in the suburbs and counties that surround London have seen a surge of sales in recent months. As we go through the third lockdown, we expect to see a further mini-boom of Londoners escaping to the countryside.”

Wychwood Park is located in Haywards Heath, West Sussex, in the midst of an Area Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, with many of the homes overlooking the picturesque South Downs. The development is surrounded by 3.7 acres of ancient woodland and will also incorporate two play areas on site.

Haywards Heath itself boasts a range of shops, bars and restaurants and its railway station is on the main London to Brighton line. Commuters can reach London Victoria by train in just 44 minutes, and Brighton is a 15-minute rail journey away. For international travel, nearby Gatwick Airport can be reached in 11 minutes by train, or 25 minutes by road via the A23.

Currently, a collection of three-, four- and five-bedroom homes start from £379,995 for a three-bedroom terraced home.

Find out more about Wychwood Park from Barratt Homes.

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