Hertfordshire is blessed with many liveable locations – and a wealth of high-quality homes. Johnny Turner snoops around this convenient county and sees what’s on the market.
H ertfordshire is the answer to a home buyer’s prayers. Not only are there easy commuter connections to the capital, lovely landscapes, bustling market towns and pretty villages. This county also offers some of the most attractive and affordable new homes on the market.
KingsOak offers its Dream Start scheme at Taverner’s Court in Hoddeston – an ingenious way to help buyers set foot on the property ladder. Buyers can pay just 75 per cent of the purchase price, deferring payment of the remaining quarter for up to ten years – and with no interest.
‘this is a really unbeatable offers, bringing affordability to the residents of Hoddesdon and beyond,’ says Nina Fitzgerals, sales manager of KingsOak North London. To qualify, buyers must exchange by an agreed date.
Taverner’s Court is a scheme of 90 one- and two-bedroom apartments in the heart of Hoddesdon. The town centre location means everything is within reach – good transport, entertainment options, nightlife and abundant green space. The local train station, Rye House, not only offers a half-hour journey into central London but also connects directly to the Victoria Line and Stansted Airport.
Prices currently start at £149,999 for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment with balcony. Call 01992 442781 to find out more about the homes or the Dream Start incentive scheme.
Furlong Homes is offering buyers a haven of tranquillity with a stunning development of riverside apartments in Bishop’s Stortford. Central Walk is en exclusive collection of spacious one- and two-bedroom apartments designed to the highest specification.
Home owners will be able to escape the stresses of everyday life in these comfortable, beautiful homes.
The first available apartments are in Heron Court, which features on 20 one- and two-bedroom apartments – and with prices starting from £169,950 demand is expected to be very high. Martin Leggett, sales director of Furlong Homes, sayd, ‘Central Walk offers a range of quality apartments situated in an idyllic location with stunning views across the River Stort. We have combined the appeal of spacious living areas with a central yet secluded location to create a truly exceptional development.’
Central Walk provides easy access to Stansted Airport and Cambridge via the M11, which also links to the M25. The marketing suite is open daily from 10.30am to 5.30pm; a show apartment will be opening soon. For further information on Central Walk call 01279 758702 or visit furlonghomes.co.uk.
Beechwood Homes presents two wonderful developments in Hertfordshire – Chaceley Grange at Leverstock Green and The Ridings at Woolmer Green. Chaceley Grange is an exclusive new development of three- and five-bedroom detached homes close to the village green. These spacious homes have well-planned family accommodation and include luxury fitted kitchens, three or four reception rooms, two en suites and video entry gates for privacy and security. Prices start from £750,000. The show home is open Friday to Monday 10am to 5pm. For more information call the show home on 01442 267926. Alternatively contact selling agents Aitchisons on 01442 213446 or Frosts on 01727 861166.
With The Ridings, Beechwood Homes offers a range of apartments along with a single bungalow. Woolmer Green is a small village surrounded by rolling countryside with three pubs, a church, a school and a village hall. The larger village of Knebworth is less than a mile away, where an impressive selection of local shops supply everyday needs, and thriving Stevenage is just three and a half miles away, with its shopping centre and the well-known Leisure Park with cinemas, ten-pin bowling, health club and large selection of restaurants.
Woolmer Green is well located for commuters to London, being only two miles from junction 6 of the A1(M) motorway, while Knebworth station provides easy links to London and beyond. Stable Mews is phase one of The Ridings. This unique scheme of just six converted apartments has its own entrance at street level and offers a variety of layouts ranging from one-bedroom apartments at 400 sq ft to two-bedroom apartments of about 750 sq ft. Gas heating, double glazing and equipped kitchens will form part of the comprehensive specification. Price guide £139,950 to £195,950.
Meanwhile, Blacksmith’s Court is an individual scheme of new apartments and a rare two-bedroom bungalow designed around a courtyard. The bungalow is designed to the Lifetime Homes Standard for space and mobility. The apartments have their own doors at street level and have varying sizes and layouts. Gas central heating, double glazing and equipped kitchens are part of the comprehensive specification. Price guide is from £159,950 to £295,000. For further information contact our sales office on 01438 814705 or selling agents Land and New Homes Countrywide on 01462 431102.
Fairview New Homes has opened a new show apartment at Sparrows Herne on the edge of Bushey Heath, where purchasers will find the advantages of modern apartment living in a quiet rural setting. The location is in landscaped grounds which once belonged to a restored 18th-century mansion on the edge of the country town. The 54 one- and two-bedroom apartments are contained within five newly constructed three-storey, whose warm brick and stone façades complement the existing mansion.
Each apartment is light and spacious, with open-plan kitchen to the living area. Many have features such as Juliet balconies and French windows which lead out to a patio. Each apartment has an allocated parking space.
The new show apartment is a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment on the ground floor, measuring 857 sq ft and providing a particularly generous en suite bathroom with double-width shower.
Bushey Heath is well connected, with junctions 4 and 5 of the M1 only minutes away by car. Metropolitan Line tube services are available from nearby Watford, and frequent peak-time trains from Watford Junction and Bushey stations provide journeys into London Euston in as little as 20 minutes.
Prices for one-bedroom apartments at Sparrows Herne have yet to be released, while two-bedroom apartments start at £250,000. Call the sales and marketing suite on 020 8950 7894 or visit fairview.co.uk.
In Hemel Hempstead, Oakbridge Homes offers a highly sought-after development called Heath Park. Located on Boxmoor, this stylish development of just 14 one- and two-bedroom apartments overlooks Heath Park gardens, Hemel Hempstead cricket ground and the tranquil environs of St John’s church.
Heath Park is only a short walk from the town centre, with its rapidly improving shopping and restaurant facilities, sports centre and railway station. This development is ideal for commuters who need contact with London during weekdays but want a quiet, lovely living environment to which they can escape during off-hours.
Half of the apartments have been sold but there are many one- and two-bedroom apartments left to choose from. Prices start at £177,500. Of particular note is a ground-floor one-bedroom duplex apartment, with its ‘bonus room’, priced at £185,000. All two-bedroom apartments offer an en suite bathroom as well as second bathroom. Contact Preston Bennett New Homes on 020 8954 8626 or Aitchisons on 01442 213446.
Laing Homes offers an attractive new incentive at its Creswick Place in Welwyn Garden City. The Easymover scheme will be of particular interest to first-time buyers and investors; purchasers benefit from up to £500 legal fees paid, stamp duty paid and fitted carpets. Alternatively Laing Homes can help with the deposit and offer a Homestyle voucher enabling buyers to personalise their new home.
Creswick Place offers 109 one- and two-bedroom apartments set in landscaped gardens in Howlands, only one-and-a-half miles from Welwyn town centre. All properties have their own allocated parking, while spaces are also reserved for visitors.
Specification is excellent, with luxury stainless steel appliances in the designer kitchens and classic Roca santiaryware and chrome thermostatic showers in the bathrooms. Prices start at £149,950 for a one-bedroom apartments, while two-bedrooms are priced from £164,950. A two-bedroom show apartment is now open. Call 01707 351330.
In buzzing Watford town centre, the former Allied Carpets store site in Derby Road is set to become a collection of 94 one- and two-bedroom apartments by award-winning developer KingsOak. The one-acre site is located directly opposite the Harlequin shopping centre.
The majority of the apartments will offer a balcony or terrace, and the development will be built around an attractive raised central courtyard. One major attraction of this development will be the secure underground parking.
The seven-storey building will have a positive impact on this town-centre locale, while helping to address the shortage of high-quality homes in this popular area. Prospective buyers are encouraged to register their interest as soon as possible. Contact Preston Bennett New Homes on 020 8954 8626.
Also in Watford, Linden Homes has launched its stunning new duplex penthouse apartments at the high-style Cassio Metro development, just a short walk from the tube station. The penthouses offer the very best in modern living, with designer Lanzet kitchens and state-of-the-art appliances. There is underfloor heating throughout, walnut staircases and doors, roomy hall space and bathrooms with Philippe Starck-designed sanitaryware.
The development, which is already part occupied and feels very much like a community, is perfect for London commuters – and equally good for investment buyers. The proximity to the tube is an incalculable plus to these beautiful homes, and the gym, swimming pool and sauna are ideal for unwinding at the end of a stressful day.
The penthouses start at £350,000. To arrange a viewing appointment call the sales and marketing suite, open daily, on 01923 229229. Visit lindenhomes.co.uk.
Fairfield Park is an imaginative project just over the Bedfordshire border in Arlesey, which is breathing new life into a former Grade II Victorian mental asylum and its 173 acres of grounds. The hospital was closed down in 1999 and became derelict, and is now the centre of a multi-million-pound scheme, instigated by developer PJ Livesey, to convert it into around 1,000 new homes.
The regeneration aspect of Fairfield Park is not its only attraction. Villages are very much back in fashion, desired by people who are tired of the anonymity of the cities and keen to be part of a community; and this collection of homes is perfect in that respect. Not only does it offer communal space and facilities for all residents, it also offers proximity to excellent transport links so that those who work in the cities can have the best of both worlds.
The new development will include a new lower school, a convenience store, play facilities and a regular bus service.
Educationally, the area is served well with pre-school, nursery, primary and secondary schools in Stotfold, Arlesey, Letchworth and Hitchin, as well as North Herts College, which offers further education opportunities. These nearby towns also offer a wealth of leisure, entertainment and shopping facilities, including cinemas, swimming pools, sports centres, golf courses, restaurants, bars and clubs. Transport-wise the area is lucky, with proximity to three mainline stations (Letchworth, Hitchin and Arlesey), which offer direct services into London King’s Cross and the North. And the major town of Stevenage, with its extensive transport links and leisure facilities, is within a 20-minute journey.
For price information about P J Livesey at Fairfield Park call 01462 735125.