I Should Cocoa: Hayes Village, West London

The WhatHouse? team was invited by Barratt London to visit its Hayes Village development, where they are regenerating a site in the London Borough of Hillingdon that used to be home to the famous chocolate and coffee brand Nestlé.

It’s still quite early days for this development bringing some 1,300 new homes to this part of the capital, with the first residents due to move in this summer. The sales suite is open seven days a week and provides a very thorough look at the project as a whole and the apartments currently for sale here, with lots of information about the site’s history in addition to interactive plans of the homes coming here. There’s also a show apartment which gives house-hunters an opportunity to step inside a typical apartment, and to get some inspiration of how to decorate and furnish their new home.

Welcomed by the Barratt London team that works there, we’re also guests at a presentation by experts The Tasting Quarter, who take us through the history of chocolate, how it has been developed and the huge array of types and products now available. They also tell us about this site, where the reputed ‘father of modern body-building' Eugene Sandow ploughed some money into his own factory in 1913. It was purchased in 1929 by Nestlé as the brand expanded outside of Switzerland for the first time, and became home to the Milky Bar. Over the years, it produced condensed-milk chocolate and instant coffee.

The Tasting Quarter’s Pip Martin said: “The Nestle site is one of the most significant in British chocolate-making history; it is amazing to think so many everyday products were created here.”

Before we get the pleasure of making our own chocolate truffles – not something we get to do on every site visit – we are taken on a quick tour. As well as the brand new buildings under construction, we see original Art Deco features such as the entrance and the southern façade of the old main factory building. A range of features and artefacts from the site’s history will be retained, restored and integrated into this regeneration.

Sales director for Barratt London, Ed McCoy, said: “As a much-loved local landmark, it is incredibly important to us that the conversion of the former Nestlé factory is heritage-led. We hope to celebrate that history, alongside allowing the building to play a significant role in the community’s future.”

In addition to the historical elements, Hayes Village will be bringing much more for the new and surrounding residents to use and enjoy, including a children’s play area, communal gardens, a 1.3km trail, 300m of previously inaccessible canal frontage, a gym, retail space and a new community centre, created from a conversion of the former canteen building.

Hayes Village is a 10-minute walk from Hayes & Harlington station, which is on the London Paddington-Reading line and soon to be on Crossrail with fast and frequent access into and across central London. It’s also just one stop from Heathrow Airport. Around 10 minutes from the development on foot is Hayes town centre, with many shops and amenities, including several major supermarkets, and a handful of parks.

Hayes Village is already proving popular, with the majority of the first phase already reserved. Two-bedroom apartments in Thornton Apartments currently start at £421,000, available to purchase through London Help to Buy. The featured home is Plot 302 on the ground floor, complete with a large private terrace, and someone reserving this £455,000, 925-sq-ft apartment before Sunday 1 March will receive a contribution towards Stamp Duty and some internal upgrades.

The sales suite here is open on Monday from 12.30pm to 5.30pm, and from Tuesday to Sunday between 10.00am and 5.30pm.

Please tell Barratt London you heard about the homes here through Whathouse.com

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