Buying in west London: shared-ownership flats in Feltham near Heathrow and Crossrail links

Although under Heathrow's flight path, the west London suburb of Feltham has shared-ownership flats from £92,000.
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Ruth Bloomfield10 March 2020

A special place in music history belongs to the west London suburb of Feltham.

A modest terrace house in Gladstone Avenue was the childhood home of Freddie Mercury.

Neighbours from those days still remember a flamboyant 18-year-old who arrived in the street in 1964, played his guitar in the back garden and hung out with Brian May, who lived round the corner.

As we all know, the pair went on to form Queen, one of the biggest stadium rock bands in the world.

When Freddie’s family, the Bulsaras, moved to Feltham from Zanzibar it was a run-down corner of the capital.

Today, while still on the shabby side, its links to central London are excellent and its town centre is changing.

In 2017 Hounslow council agreed a “masterplan” outlining scope for 3,300 new homes to be built by 2026, almost half on a Ministry of Defence site south-west of the town centre.

The council believes this will “act as a catalyst” for regeneration after the MOD moves out in 2023.

Hounslow sees the need to sort out the town centre with better shops and restaurants, street cafés and markets, and revamp the area around the station with homes, more shops and public space.

The work has begun, with the road network and pavements being improved and new benches and trees installed.

Food, fun and Crossrail

First-time buyers who want a home for under £100,000 could buy into Feltham at a new development just north of the high street.

Homes at Longview Court start at £92,000 for a 40 per cent share of a one-bedroom flat with either a balcony or terrace.

Buyers need to earn at least £29,000 to be eligible and alongside mortgage repayments will need to budget monthly for rent at £323 and service charge of £125.

From £92,000: 40 per cent of a one-bedroom flat with balcony or terrace at Longview Court, in Feltham

Two-bedroom flats start at £85,000 for a 30 per cent share and buyers need to have a household income of £34,000 or more.

The monthly rent is £457, and the service charge will add £159 to running costs.

Fourteen miles from central London, Feltham town centre is not exciting but there is a Cineworld cinema, plenty of chain stores and some good restaurants.

Try a warming bowl of pho at Vietnamese restaurant Banh Mi 108, or visit Namaste Gurkha, a local institution with an Indian and Asian menu.

There is also a surprising amount of green space, notably Hanworth Park, which has an adjacent leisure centre.

Life in these outer reaches of west London is dominated by Heathrow airport and Feltham suffers from flight path noise, so buyers will need to decide whether they can live with aircraft flying directly overhead. Any airport expansion would not improve matters, of course.

On the upside, being close to Heathrow is great for holidays or travelling for work, and when Crossrail comes it will offer fast direct trains to the West End, City and Canary Wharf.

The alternative is to use Feltham station, a 15-minute walk away, with services to Waterloo taking about half an hour.

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