Situated close to the town of Hayes, this West London suburb offers its residents a great range of outdoor spaces including Pinkwell Park, Lake Farm Country Park and Bourne Farm Recreation Ground. For those into outdoor sports, the area also offers fantastic opportunities for golf, with not one, but two large golf courses, which are just a stone’s throw away from the centre of the neighbourhood. To the north, there is a well-established industrial and trading estate, home to industry leaders, including GSK, Toshiba, Canon, and Kuehne & Nagel. This area also boasts fantastic transport links: Hayes and Harlington station, situated to the East of the locality provides a quick route into the city, whilst to the south, the junction to the M4 allows easy movement towards either Bristol or London, and also facilitating quick access to Heathrow airport. Most of the housing here is spacious and detached or semi-detached, boasting gardens and private driveways; amenities are closely situated within walking or a bus journey’s distance. There are also a wide range of educational establishments, catering for younger children, as well as adults (Harlington Adult Education Centre) wishing to pursue further training.

This neighbourhood is home to the Old Vinyl Factory, which has a rich and varied history. The site it now stands on was purchased during the 1900s, and construction began in 1907. In this space, gramophones were sold, and were labelled ‘His Master’s Voice’. During the two World Wars, the building contributed to the war effort in its manufacturing of military ammunitions; it was bombed as a result of its value in 1944. Despite the disruption occurring out of the Wars, the building was home to the record label EMI, and in the decades following the War, they produced the vinyl for top-name records, including the Beatles and Pink Floyd. As the vinyl industry declined business ceased, which culminated in the sale of the building in 2011. Since that time, the building has undergone redevelopment and is now home to a number of apartments and recreational facilities, as well as an Academy, which was opened by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2017.

The film, Trains at Hayes Station (1935), was shot at Hayes & Harlington, and is especially famous as it was the first film that provided a moving picture alongside audio. And if this wasn’t enough, the 2013 film Thor: The Dark World incorporated a couple of scenes that were shot at the former EMI compound. This area was also once home to George Orwell.

Despite the excellent transport links within this neighbourhood area, with the M4 and rail line service to London, these major transport routes come at a cost due to the high-level of noise that they produce. The railway line also cuts through the centre of the area which therefore limits the movement that can be enjoyed between the northern and southern parts of this particular neighbourhood.

The station of Hayes and Hillingdon is just outside this neighbourhood; however, the opening of the Elizabeth Line in 2022, which also stops at this station, is expected to impact the surrounding urban landscape, including that of Hayes Town. The new line has led to upgrades that increase passenger capacity at the station and it has also greatly increased the area’s connectivity to Central London. In close proximity to this neighbourhood, the re-development of the former Nestle factory is underway, with the intent to deliver 1,386 new homes, a proposed 40% of which will be affordable. As part of this, £5.3 million has already been assured by the Greater London Authority. Barratt London and property investment company SEGRO are working together on this project and also expect to provide 30,000 sq ft of light industrial space and create at least 500 permanent jobs. It will also provide over 3 hectares of public open space, including a 1.3km trim trail, and open up 300m of canal footage. Sustainability is at the heart of Hayes Village, with 2,000 cycle spaces, electric vehicle charging points and extensive landscaping.