Escape to the village green
PARENTS Rachel and Rafe Ball are looking forward to becoming one of the first families to move into one of Britain’s new wave of garden villages. The couple have bought a four-bedroom detached house off-plan at Upper Longcross in Surrey and are excited to be leaving suburban Staines on the western edge of London for a family home in a leafier setting.
“Being that bit further out, we’ll be surrounded by green spaces. It’s a lot calmer than where we are now,” says Rachel. “But we’ll also be within easy reach of London.”
The Upper Longcross site has the M3, Wentworth golf course and the commuter town of Virginia Water to the north. The new garden village will be built on land that was formerly the site of a defence evaluation research agency during the Cold War.
It is being developed by Crest Nicholson with around 17,000 homes due to be built in Longcross with Upper Longcross the first phase, says executive director Chris Tinker.
“The whole site was designated as one of the first 14 garden villages,” he says, referring to the developments confirmed by the government earlier this year in addition to three garden towns planned for Buckinghamshire, Somerset and the Essex-Hertfordshire border.
At the moment Longcross railway station only has an intermittent service on the Reading to Waterloo line, but Chris says Crest Nicholson will help to improve the station. “In 12 months’ time, when people move on site, we will have a regular service and Virginia Water station is just one mile in the other direction.”
The ease of commute was certainly a factor for Rafe, who works in London. But a sense of community was also a big selling point. “We like the idea of being part of the first phase of the development and being a part of a growing community,” he says.
The couple have a five-year-old daughter and are enthusiastic about the communal space the development will have.
Rafe says: “There are plans for a children’s play area, a pond and plenty of green spaces for me to go running.”
Crest Nicholson had already begun planning Upper Longcross before it was designated a garden village.
“We were unusual in already being on site,” says Chris, adding: “The garden city movement is about creating places of work as well as places to live and Upper Longcross has that.”
Thriving
Longcross Film Studios, where Call The Midwife has been produced, is nearby.
Chris says: “Longcross is a very active, thriving and creative place already but we will deliver office blocks and have put in a planning application for the focal building, which will be like a National Trust-style delicatessen-restaurant.”
Upper Longcross is likely to be the first of the 14 garden villages to have residents, with Rachel and Rafe hoping to move in later this year.
There are several house designs and the couple have chosen an Elsenham house. “We’re quite practical and our new home is perfect for that,” says Rachel. “It has two en-suite bathrooms in addition to a main bathroom. It will certainly be a nice change from what we have now; to get to our bathroom you must go through our bedroom – not ideal for visitors.
“Our new home also has a study, which we’re going to convert into a playroom and it will be nice to be able to host my parents who are recently retired. All in all, if I was asked to draw my ideal floor plan, this is it.” INFORMATION: To find out more call 01932 967020 or go to crestnicholson.com