East Greenhill is one of those areas which have a bit of everything. To the east of the neighbourhood, the Harrow central shopping district provides a wealth of shopping options; to the south, Harrow-on-the-Hill has leafy parks and golf courses; and to the north, Kenton and Kenton recreation ground possess a village feel. The area is enfolded neatly between no less than three London Underground stations, three National Rail stations, and two London Overground stations. As you can imagine, this makes the suburb a popular choice for commuters and families alike. There are a number of pleasant local amenities, including allotments, as well as more convenient ones (there is a Tesco’s superstore located nearby too.) There are also a number of local employment sites in the area: Harrow Council, for example, is also located within this neighbourhood. Reflecting Harrow’s cultural diversity, a number of cultural and religious centres are located along the main road: Harrow Central Mosque sits along the central Station Road, alongside a number of restaurants, bakeries and eateries.

Greenhill’s development as a suburban outpost was quite gradual. Historically, it was oriented around the historical centre, towards the Harrow-on-the-Hill area. In the Victorian period, the Greenhill area really began to grow. St John’s the Baptist Church, which is at the centre of the neighbourhood, was first built to meet the needs of a growing population, which had reached the 400 mark and signalled the need for improved amenities. By 1902 Greenhill had a population of 4,892, and today, it exceeds 12,000. Whilst it is not often a destination for visitors for historic tourism, it is a popular commercial centre and therefore attracts a lot of footfall from shoppers.

Greenhill, located comfortably in the Harrow district, doesn’t actually have a Green Hill. In fact, when the records are checked, it seems that the name Greenhill actually derives from a medieval family of the same name who lived in the area in the 13th century. Their manorial name ‘Grenehulle’ appears to have adapted over time to ‘Greenhill’, ultimately leaving us with the name for the neighbourhood which is used today.

Greenhill is home to a very diverse community and Harrow in total has four mosques, the largest of which is in Greenhill. The Harrow Central Mosque is not only the largest but also relatively new, being built close to Harrow Council which is located opposite on Station Road. The Greenhill area is incredibly popular with shoppers. Unfortunately, this means that on the high street and towards the southern/eastern end of the neighbourhood area there is sometimes the danger of pickpocketing. The safer neighbourhoods’ team in the area has warned local residents to be wary of this, as pickpockets tend to target unwary shoppers. Despite this, the rich variety of things to do, eat and experience in Harrow are growing yearly. The Harrow Town Centre BID organisation confirms this- as there is ‘a wide range of fun to be had in Harrow and the local area, from golfing to skateboarding, a visit to the bowling alley or a good workout’ – which certainly makes the area an attractive destination.

Harrow is high on the agenda for the Mayor of London, thanks to its excellent transport connections to central London and wider connections to northwest London. This is reflected in the Mayor’s Outer London Fund, which has given £472,000 for Round One and £1.8m for Round Two, (which will be matched by £1 million from Harrow Council) for wide-ranging improvements to Harrow Town Centre. The borough on the whole is set for a total rejeuvenation too, with the £690m ‘Building a Better Harrow’ scheme in conjunction with Wates Residential, set to bring 1,500 new affordable homes, a civic centre, numerous new commercial spaces, as well as plenty of new and improved green space over the coming ten years. The focus of these developments will be at Poet’s Corner, Byron Park, and Peel House car park.