This neighbourhood comprises much of the area locally known as Kenton. At the southern end of the neighbourhood, towards the Greenhill area, is Kenton Recreation Ground. This large, open green space provides great recreational facilities for local residents and schools, and is one of Harrow’s main parks, with a variety of football pitches, tennis courts, open space and cafes. In fact, the neighbourhood has many options for green space, for example, overlapping with Byron Recreation Ground to the west. Whilst the majority of the neighbourhood is made up of residential streets, there is bustling commercial hub at the north of the area, centred around Belmont Circle. Aside from the normal shops, there are a number of restaurants and bars which together provide a more lively nighttime offering. The other key hub is clustered around Kenton London Underground and Overground Station, along the busy Kenton Road. Aside from the obvious transport connections into central London, this end of the neighbourhood also has a great number of local south Asian restaurants, reflecting the cultural diversity of the area.

This neighbourhood covers much of the area known as Kenton, which was first referenced in 1232 as ‘Keninton’. Whilst neighbouring villages saw some development in the 19th century, Kenton did not see the same changes, perhaps as a result of poor accessibility from London, thus making it less tempting as a gentleman’s country retreat. Nonetheless, as is the case with many such areas in London’s outer suburbs, the arrival of the railway station re-centred the village, and brought new life and development to the area. Whilst the old village had been situated more towards what is now Woodcock Park, new development built up around the Kenton Railway station. Over time, the railways tempted more visitors and eventually prospective residents to the area, which triggered the development of new housing estates across the neighbourhood: in the 1920’s, Kenton’s population increased ten times over.

This boom in population reflects wider suburban transformations in North-West London, which are associated with the creation of ‘Metro-land’, the suburban expansion that occurred in line with the implementation of the Metropolitan line. More recently, Kenton has become popular for its suburban-village character, and whilst its key historical sites have changed a lot over the last century, it is still possible to spot the history in the buildings and architecture of the area – we recommend checking out Kenton Lane and Belmont Circle for a taste of 20th century suburban development.

To the north of the area, encompassing the Belmont Circle roundabout and the wider Belmont area, there used to be a railway station – Belmont Station. This line had once connected Belmont and north Kenton to Stanmore, but was axed in 1964 by the notorious civil servant, Dr Beeching. Whilst this small local line had little use in the wider scheme of the rail network – in the 1940’s it barely saw 700 people use it per day, and didn’t turn a prot - the closure of the line came at the dismay of locals, who petitioned for it to remain. Dr. Beeching has remained one of the most controversial civil servants of the 20th century, as his decision to cut thousands of miles of railway lines in the 1950’s transformed the composition of the UK’s railways – and, some argue, local economies.

Whilst this probably didn’t disrupt the economy in this area too much (there were many alternatives for local travel) some parts of the country, such as Cornwall, are said to have seen much bigger consequences as a result of cutting off many rail links into the South West peninsula!

Generally this area has good access to a number of public transport options, but sadly many of the stations in this area lack step-free access: Northwick Park, Harrow-on-the-Hill and Kenton Underground stations all do not have step-free access. This makes it hard for local residents who require access, meaning they have to travel further to use public transport. On the plus side, this issue has been recognised, in particular by Northwick Park, the large hospital which sits in close proximity to Kenton.

Despite these problems, there is hope that they will be addressed soon. In the meantime, the area continues to be vastly popular for families. The strength of the local community is reflected in the views of one of the most popular secondary school choices in the area, Belmont Middle school, who observe that they are a ‘very harmonious and happy multicultural school’ and ‘take pride in our diverse community’ reflecting the wider community spirit.

Development is typically steady in this suburban corner of London as the area is yet to become a major target for developers. The largest ongoing development is located between 79-83 Kenton Road. Named Viceroys Court, this scheme will comprise 39 flats, many of which will be available through the help-to-buy scheme.Kenton Library – the beloved 1930’s architectural gem – has recently reopened to the community, with the children’s library colourfully redesigned, along with general improvements to lighting and the restoration of original features.