This neighbourhood area is a perfect place for families as it is filled with many attractive three- and four-bedroom Victorian terrace houses, numerous twenties terraces and thirties semis, as well as primary schools that all boast Ofsted ratings of good to outstanding. A canal lined with houseboats winds its way through the neighbourhood, giving residents a pleasant place to walk if they tire of Wormwood Scrubs or Kensal Green Cemetery. The Fishermans Arms is a great local pub and there is also a well-reviewed Iraqi restaurant a few streets over. If residents desire more dining and drinking options, they can simply walk up the street to Harlesden High Road, where there are also great transport links into central London.

The Kensal Green Cemetery is the oldest of London’s ‘Magnificent Seven’ burial grounds. Opened in 1832, it was designed by George Frederick Carden, who based the burial ground on Père Lachaise in Paris. The cemetery is laid out on 56 acres of land and it was the first of many suburban cemeteries that were created by joint-stock companies in response to the difficulties of finding burial space in central London churchyards. One of the most popular monuments in the cemetery is that dedicated to Princess Sophia, who lived a tragic life, sheltered from the outside world by her father King George III. Her isolation from the family led to her being buried in a public cemetery, which gave the newly opened cemetery a mainstream appeal, especially among the aristocracy. This is perhaps one of the reasons so many people are buried there today.

The famous Charles Blondin was buried in Kensal Green Cemetery. Blondin was most well known for tightrope walking across Niagara Falls in 1859. As though it wasn’t challenging enough, he did the crossing over 300 more times, with various hindrances, including blindfolds, carrying passengers, pushing a wheelbarrow and even stopping halfway to cook up an omelette.

One of the downsides of this neighbourhood is that property prices have risen considerably in recent years; up 21.19% for example between 2017 and 2018. The average rental is 10.9% above the London average and the average property price is 26.9% above the London average. This is likely because of the area’s great location and development in the last few years.

This neighbourhood area is slated for major development and refurbishment in the coming years. Harlesden is set to be transformed by a million-pound regeneration project after Brent Council successfully secured funds for a Harlesden Gateway High Streets Heritage Action Zone in 2021. The funding will help deliver public realm improvements to the high street, as well as enhancements and refurbishments to existing buildings and shopfronts. Brent Council has also begun works to develop new council homes f0r Church End, with an aim to deliver 99 new homes and an improved Market Square for the local community. It is expected that works will end in 2025.

A bit further south, Old Oak Common has been designated a new super-hub set to be the best-connected and largest new railway station ever built in the UK. Development prospects around the station, which is expected to become one of the country’s busiest following the completion of HS2-related works for the station, are anticipated to have high returns and an area immediately to the southwest of the proposed station has already been identified for commercial development. The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) was also established to capitalise on the significant HS2 and Elizabeth Line (Crossrail) investment at Old Oak Common. Tasked with the redevelopment and regeneration of over 640 hectares of land, it is the OPDC’s ambition to create approximately 26,500 new homes and 36,500 new jobs along with new open spaces and supporting infrastructure.