By Ben West

For many years Abbey Wood hasn’t hit the radar for most buyers and renters looking for somewhere to live in the capital. It doesn’t have the boutique shopping, glitzy restaurants and nightlife of the likes of Greenwich, Blackheath and Dulwich, but instead is a down-to-earth neighbourhood of south London possessing a good amount of greenery.

However, things are swiftly changing as Crossrail’s Elizabeth line, due to commence service in 2020 or 2021 to Abbey Wood – named after the ancient woodlands that surround the remains of Lesnes Abbey, founded in 1178 – has triggered widespread regeneration and development plans. The 73 mile/118km line will link south east London to Berkshire and Buckinghamshire via central London. Abbey Wood will boast up to 12 fast trains an hour to central London.

The new trains will result in dramatic cuts in commuting times. Travelling to the West End will take around 25 minutes, and Heathrow 51 minutes.

Housing boom

Investors are increasingly focusing on this neighbourhood that, has historically possessed some of the lowest property prices in London yet has easy access to both central London and the Kentish countryside, as well as extensive greenery and woodland.

Homeowners near the Crossrail route are already benefitting from its development, according to new figures by PropertyPlanner. Homes around the town have increased greatly since plans for the new line were announced in 2007. Then, the average price of a house in Abbey Wood was £179,482. Today, in 2019, the average price is £304,690.

This rise is higher than the average for other properties along the route for the Elizabeth Line, and well above the national average increase of 25%.

Prices remain forecast to continue to rise, and demand from both buyers and tenants will intensify once the projects are complete.

Exciting new schemes

When he was mayor, Boris Johnson promised an £80 million financial package for two new housing zones, and the two governing councils, Greenwich and Bexley, are working in conjunction with housing association Peabody to create 3,000 new homes to be built over the next decade. A large proportion will be ‘affordable’.

The Harrow Manor Lane flyover and railway line dominate and divide the locality, and Peabody plans to create a new shopping street along Harrow Manor Way, and a new lateral park through the estate that will connect Lesnes Abbey Woods with Crossness on the Thames.

The Cross Quarter regeneration scheme, just to the north of Abbey Wood station, has been creating a new high quality mixed-use development including a new Sainsbury’s supermarket, more than 220 new private and affordable homes, a 100-bed hotel, a library, start-up business accommodation, early years/nursery provision and a new public square.

Regeneration needed, but will all current residents benefit?

Although new developments in Abbey Wood will include some ‘affordable housing’, many observers believe there won’t be enough. A new residential tower by Abbey Wood station, for example, has been approved with just 24 out of 245 flats being ‘affordable’ at 70% of market rents. There will be no social housing at all.

Abbey Wood councillor Anne Marie Cousins has criticised plans, saying developers are not providing enough housing that will be truly affordable for local people, many of whom are on low incomes or unemployed.

Existing housing options

Existing Abbey Wood housing is generally a very mixed bag of Victorian, pre- and post-war properties. To the north the neighbourhood merges into Thamesmead, with its late 1960s and early 1970s Brutalist concrete blocks where Stanley Kubrick’s controversial 1971 film, A Clockwork Orange, was shot.

The traditional ‘two up, two down’ properties of the Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society’s Bostall Estate, built between 1900 and 1930, are ever-popular, while Woodland Road, Woodland Way and Bostall Lane properties are particularly sought after due to their close proximity to the woods. There are also 3000 dwellings on the Abbey Wood Estate, built between 1956 and 1959 on former Royal Arsenal land.

Abbey Wood is 10.6 miles/17km east of Charing Cross. Woolwich is to the west, Thamesmead and the Thames to the north, Erith to the east and Welling to the south. Driving to central London takes around 50 minutes, while that huge shrine to retail, Bluewater Shopping Centre, the M25 and the Dartford Crossing are around 20 minutes away.

Good schools

Rated schools at present include Bannockburn, Bursted Wood, Parkway, St John Fisher, Alexander McLeod, Boxgrove, St Thomas A Becket, De Lucy, Gallions Mount and Willow Bank (primaries), and Plumstead Manor, Welling and Bexley Business Academy and St Paul’s Manor (secondaries). There are three rated grammars in the vicinity: Townley (girls), Chislehurst and Sidcup, and Bexley Grammar.

Abbey Wood has considerable cultural diversity and a good community spirit. The Crossrail development will vastly improve the range of cafes, bars and restaurants: locals currently head to Plumstead High Street for low-key dining, such as curry houses and noodle bars, and the cafe in the woods is popular.

Lots of open space

Attractive Lesnes Abbey Woods contains many fossils from the Eocene epoch about 54.5 million years ago as well as being one of the UK’s few sites where rare wild daffodils can be found. There are a number of further parks and sports areas, including Bostall Gardens, which has a bowls pavilion, playground, tennis and basketball courts, and Bostall Heath and Woods, which has cricket and football pitches and a bowling green. A bit further on are Winn’s Common, East Wickham Open Space, Oxleas Woods and Crossness Nature Reserve.

Abbey Wood facts

During the 1860s celebrated Arts and Crafts artist and writer William Morris lived at The Red House in nearby Bexleyheath and would use a decorated wagon to commute between Abbey Wood station and his home, sometime with his colourful, artistic house guests.

Celebrated snooker champion Steve Davis and singers Kate Bush and Tinie Tempah all attended schools in the area.