This neighbourhood is located to the northwest of Hendon town centre. The western portion of the neighbourhood is comprised of suburban terraced houses and the council estate of West Hendon, whereas the eastern portion has a looser (albeit still suburban) structure, with Sunny Hill Park taking up a sizeable portion to the north, and Middlesex University dominating the centre. To the south is the High Street along Church Road and onwards to Finchley Lane. Overall, this neighbourhood retains many suburban characteristics, but the presence of Middlesex University and the large Sunny Hill Park gives the area a campus vibe, with more greenery and open space present as well as pedestrian pathways cutting through the area, segregated from vehicular traffic.

Middlesex University’s origins date to 1878 with the founding of St. Katherine’s College, a female teacher training college based in Tottenham. The university would be formed out of mergers of several independent institutions, such as Ponders End Technical Institute, and Hendon Technical Institute, which opened in 1939. Middlesex Polytechnic would be established in 1973, and later formed into Middlesex University in 1992 under the Further and Higher Education Act.

Over the years it has grown out of Middlesex, and opened its first overseas regional office in Kuala Lumpur in the 1990s. Today it has overseas campuses in Dubai, Mauritius and Malta, as well as partnerships with institutions all around the world. In Middlesex, however, its many campuses from around the area have been integrated into the Hendon campus, where all London-based teaching occurs today.

Middlesex Polytechnic and its successor Middlesex University has produced many notable alumni, such as fashion designers Vivienne Westwood (who was responsible to a large extent for bringing modern punk into the fashion mainstream) and Ashley Isham, and journalist Carrie Gracie (who famously covered the death of Deng Xiaoping and the handover of Hong Kong for the BBC World Service). Notably, several comedians have studied here, including Alan Carr, Russel Kane, Milton Jones, Johnny Vegas (or his birth name Michael Pennington) and Dermot O’Leary.

Sunny Hill Park for the most part is an unassuming grassland, created in the 1920s for public recreational use, having once been a place for growing hay to feed the horses which powered London’s transportation network.

However, Dr. Gabriel Moshenska of the UCL Institute of Archaeology is currently leading an excavation of a network of WWII bomb shelters, which have been hidden since the end of the war. Hendon Borough Council at the time had been tasked to find or create shelter space for 17,000 people in the area.

The area is relatively sparse in terms of public transportation connections, with Hendon Central being the main station. This is in part exacerbated by the M1 and A1 which cordon off the area. However, owing to the university as well as nearby Brent Cross Shopping Centre, the neighbourhood is self-sustaining and many amenities are to be found within walking distance.

The West Hendon regeneration scheme will bring 2000 private and affordable homes to the area, along with new connections to public transportation, a community centre and land for a new school. Further afield, the plan aims to create a clear connection to the Welsh Harp reservoir, which coupled with the improved pedestrian links to Hendon station, will make the area, criss-crossed by motorways, a more pleasant place to walk and get around. The West Hendon regeneration is set to be completed by 2028, with the delivery of new homes expected for 2027. In 2021, it was also announced that Barnet Council endorsed plans for an £18.8m investment to create a state-of-the-art community sports hub for West Hendon Playing Fields. New facilities will, among other amenities and spaces, include tennis courts, an outdoor gym, a play area and a skate park. The Hub building will boast a café, indoor climbing, activity studio, nursery, community rooms and more!