Welcome to the cheap streets (From Haringey Independent)

Welcome to the cheap streets

7:00am Thursday 9th July 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

TWO of Haringey's streets are among the cheapest for residential property in London.

At average prices of £103,200 and £103,800 Progress Way and Willan Road come in seventh and eighth on a table of the capital's most recession-busting property buys.

The price index, published by Mouseclick.com, found the cheapest street was in Cardiff, with properties a snip at £24,640 on average.

Haringey's entries compare favourably with streets in boroughs such as Sutton and Barking and Dagenham.

And with the exception of Lewisham's Thomas Lane, Haringey's entries are only beaten by less than central London destinations such as Bexley, Havering and Croydon.

But what seems at first to be a huge surprise makes more sense when you visit the roads concerned.

Wood Green's Progress Road only has two tower blocks after a strange planning decision nearly 40 years ago.

Anthony Dent's three bedroom house faces onto the road but his postal address is in the nearby Pellat Grove, and other houses in the street are the same.

“I've lived in this house since it was built 38 years ago," the retired train driver said. “It was lovely then because we all knew each other. Now, so many people have moved away.”

Mr Dent was surprised at Mouseclick's figure. He said: “I bought my house 17 years ago for £26,000 but I've recently had it valued at nearer £250,000.”

Mr Dent brought up three children in the house and even watched it being built from the nearby tower block where he had lived for four more years previously.

He said if people could buy a house there for £103,000 they would be lucky.

“It's pretty quiet here. We don't see much in the way of police — it's nice.”

Willan Road is in a similar situation. It is in the middle of Tottenham's Broadwater Farm estate, the scene of race riots in the 1980s. It is the estate's shopping street and the only homes which could be on sale here would be in one of three tower blocks.

Rather than thinking buyers would be getting a bargain, residents living on the street think £103,000 is far too much to pay for a home here.

“This is one of the most notorious estates in London, so to pay that much would be extortionate,” said one 65-year-old who tempered her opinion by saying she loved the estate and would not want to leave.

Sarah Agyei, another resident, looked surprised: “It's all flats isn't it? I would expect it to be cheaper than that because they are all council.”

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)