Feature Development – Brook Valley Gardens, Chipping Barnet

Housebuilder and regeneration specialist Countryside is making quick progress at Brook Valley Gardens, creating a range if ‘Scandi’-style contemporary homes on the site of the Dollis Valley Estate.

Work on Phase 1 started five years ago at replacing the long-standing, poor-quality prefab housing with something to the latest designs and standards, inside and out. Phase 3, launched in January the initial houses selling fast. Apartments were launched last month and are proving popular already. There are a further two phases which will complete the regeneration of the Dollis Valley estate in 2027 after over 10 years.

One of the keys to the whole project is low-rise living, with no tower blocks, to retain a sense of neighbourliness and community. Each home has its own private outside space but there are also public green spaces, an open-air gym and – already with quite a waiting list – an allotment area for green-fingered residents. All the estate’s three road junctions are onto Mays Lane, so it doesn’t act as a shortcut for other drivers, meaning the streets will be quiet and safe. Every resident here has a parking space.

Within easy reach are a range of useful shops and amenities as well as some excellent schools –Queen Elizabeth Schools for Boys and Girls are part of the grammar school system and there are families already living at Brook Valley Gardens who have moved there specifically to be in the catchment areas. St Catherine’s PRC Primary School is a few minutes away and rated ‘Outstanding’ by Ofsted. A nursey school and community centre are just around the corner.

Another draw for all buyers is the proximity of green space. Not only are there many parks, playing fields and sports grounds, but despite being in Zone 5, Barnet is very close to the open countryside of Hertfordshire. The Dollis Valley Greenwalk runs close to home here, a 10-mile scenic route from Moat Mount, near Mill Hill, to Hampstead Heath.

This area also benefits from both excellent transport links. High Barnet station is close by on the end of the Northern line, a little over half-an-hour from the City and West End, and around a mile away is New Barnet on the Moorgate to Welwyn Gardens City National Rail line. By road, the A1, North Circular, M1 and M25 are all an easy drive away.

The show home at Brook Valley Gardens, dressed by award-winning Alexander James Interiors, is a three-bedroom house called the ‘Wilbraham’, which like the other types here has been named after historical local benefactors. Design and specification are thoroughly 21st century though, and this property has been fitted with the standard specification to show the neutral ‘blank canvas’ palette, the fitted kitchen and appliances and the wheelchair-compatible ‘lifetime’ layouts. There’s a higher-than-average ceiling height accentuating living space and there are two sets of doors to the garden. The top floor is dedicated to the principal bedroom, which comes with en suite and fitted wardrobes.

Launching in August were the first Brook Valley Gardens apartments, Rhea Court, with a choice of one- and two-bedroom properties which will be ideal for first-time buyers and downsizers in particular. Having floor-to-ceiling windows to maximise natural light, each will have its own private outside space and as a bonus for home-working or leisure time, Hyperoptic broadband will be free-of-charge for the first three months.

Among the first few units released is a two-bedroom, ground-floor apartment priced at £465,000. The living space of 794 sq ft is laid out over a kitchen/dining living room, off which is the generous balcony, together with a double bedroom with built-in wardrobe and en suite, a single room (a possible home office) and a family bathroom. This property comes with a utility cupboard off the hallway which is home to the washing machine and has more space to help declutter). All apartments come on a 999-year lease and have a specification including fitted kitchen with integral big-brand appliances, white sanitaryware with chrome bathroom fittings, and Amtico flooring and carpet.

There’s just one three-bedroom home for sale at Brook Valley Gardensright now, priced at £660,000 and ready to move into this month. One-bedroom apartments currently start at £380,000 and two-bedroom apartments start at £465,000, ready to move in June 2022.

Find out more at www.countrysideproperties.com.

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