This neighbourhood snugly loops around Eastcote and Pinner Underground stations, and is composed of predominantly leafy tree lined suburban streets and large family homes. Situated in the more expensive part of Harrow’s Pinner area, the neighbourhood has a lot to offer, particularly with regards to open green space, local schools, and the local shopping areas clustered around the two underground stations. One popular spot is the Pinner Memorial Park, a peaceful and tranquil park which provides 5.26 hectares of greenery, including an ornamental ‘Peace Garden’. Towards the north of the locality is a wider selection of grocery and convenience shops, as well as a few restaurants, schools and libraries. Overall, residents in this area tend to be nearing retirement age, and with one of the lowest crime rates in London, it is very popular with families too.

This small patch of suburbia is surrounded by the historic villages of Eastcote and Pinner. Pinner itself was first a part of the Manor of Harrow, once held by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the early 9th century. Much of the wider area remained as open land until later in the 20th century, whereas towards Eastcote the development of suburban housing occurred much earlier, mainly springing up north of Eastcote Underground station which opened in 1906. The sprawl of ‘Metroland’ enveloped the area and subsequently developed into the suburb recognisable today. During the Second World War Eastcote was subject to 18 raids by the Luftwaffe, and along with a hospital for casualties from the D-Day landings, and it was also home to a codebreaking facility that worked with Beltchley Park to decode German Enigma messages. The site continued to be used as a codebreaking facility until well into the 1950s as GCHQ.

One former resident who made a name for himself is Professor John Craven, OBE, a former pupil of local school Pinner County Grammar. Craven, who recently retired after serving as Vice Chancellor of the University of Portsmouth, established the University Alliance and has an impressive career in economics primarily focused on the theory of ‘Social Choice’. Having studied at the top global university MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), and achieved a successful career in academia, he is certainly an impressive former-resident.

Whilst the benefits of living near a tube station are obvious to any resident familiar with the plight of the commuter, Eastcote Underground station is the second most in demand station for house buyers. It follows only Watford in its desirability, which ironically isn’t technically in London, most likely as a result of lower house prices but excellent transport links.

Following a wave of recent burglaries in the local area, there has been concern over the safety and security for local residents. In particular, the area around Eastcote Village has recently seen a spike in crime, the most common being burglaries and anti-social behaviour. In response to this, however, there has been a huge amount community action to combat crime and support the efforts of local police. In 2015, for example, a nearby Ruislip resident set up a ‘Crime awareness group for the Ruislip & Eastcote area’ which now has over 10,000 members on its Facebook page. This positive, proactive response to local problems has been welcomed by the police. Further, as local councillor Nick Denys observed in an interview with a local paper, “It is really good that locals are exchanging information to help make the local area even safer than it already is. I’m glad to say that most people enjoy living in Eastcote and Ruislip and feel safe most of the time.”

Given that there has been an increased interest from those seeking to buy homes around the Eastcote area, particularly near the station, it is not surprising that a number of new planning applications for flats have sprung up in recent years. Alongside London Square’s relatively recent 45-apartment development, projects such as the 56-flat Malt Works, all of which sold out in 2022, and Eastcote Lane, which will consist of 36 flats on the site of the former Eastcote Arms pub, will bring a number of new homes to the area over the coming 5-10 years.