Sandwiched between the M4 on the north, the M25 on the west and Heathrow Airport to the south, this neighbourhood may appear to be a nightmare of noise pollution. However, due to the very large buffer that the nearby Harmondsworth Moor provides, little to no traffic noise makes its way from the motorways to the residential areas. Whilst there are certainly a lot of properties and hotels geared towards commuters in the southern part of this neighbourhood, Harmondsworth has a strong, static community that is bolstered by the local church, independent stores, primary school and nursery. Easy access to Harmondsworth Moor and Saxon Lake are no doubt one of the central pulls of this neighbourhood, and many residents are employed in the local logistics and transport industries located within the Saxon Way Trading Estate.

Harmondsworth has ancient roots, with evidence of Iron Age huts and 6th-century Saxon dwellings being uncovered by archaeologists. A particularly dramatic event happened here also in 1211, where the Benedictine Abbey of Holy Trinity built a priory, and began imposing heavy taxes on the local population to pay for its maintenance. This became so unpopular that in 1281, villagers burned down some of its buildings. The development of Heathrow Airport in the 1940s erased all traces of the parish, although the areas around High Street and Bath Road remain conservation and archaeological priority areas.

The western part of Harmondsworth is a liminal space for many people who find themselves in the UK without the correct documentation. Housing two immigration detention centres, many international visitors reside on the boundaries of Harmondsworth each year before they are either supplied with the right documentation or deported. The International Rescue Committee also has a building here - an NGO dedicated to helping people who have their lives and livelihoods devastated by conflict and environmental disaster.

The main downside to this neighbourhood is undoubtedly the amount of noise generated by the nearby airport, as well as the commute time into central London, clocking in at around 80 minutes.

Future plans have been approved to create a third runway for Heathrow, which would see half of Harmondsworth as it exists today demolished, and the other half will then reside just a few metres from the airport’s perimeter. The approval of the runway has resulted in £2.6 billion in compensation for residents and noise abatement measures, but many are not optimistic about the future of Harmondsworth. That said, the Heathrow expansion initiative has been a controversial and unpredictably changing project: new emissions targets make the expansion difficult to achieve, the 2020-2021 pandemic has led to new projections that push the need for expansion 5 years to the future, and the government’s recent revolving door of Prime Ministers and ministerial heads has create a political rollercoaster with regard to whether the expansion has political support or not.