This sliver of residential land along the Great Cambridge Road (also known as the A10) is known as Wormley. Granted, the name isn’t a big seller, but with the perfect balance of rural life and access to the city, it is one of outer London’s hidden gems. For its proximity to the gorgeous seemingly never-ending greenery around the Hertfordshire Hill, and the idyllic River Lea, it’s a hotspot for those looking for the perfect quiet family life. The numerous streets that consist predominantly of suburban post war homes offer large gardened living space that is proving more and more popular with those priced out of the city. Part of the Broxbourne district, which has seen huge new attention in recent years, Wormley is set to see itself on the map in the future.

The history of Wormley is a humble one. It was one of the manors granted to the canons of the Waltham Holy Cross by Harold II, the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king of England, and appeared in the Domesday Book of 1085 as Wermelai. Its unappealing name has an even less appealing origin; it means ‘snake invested woodland pasture’. It remained under the control of the monastery until the dissolution in 1540. The village slowly emerged around a large manor house, and a school was built in 1864 and remains in the village. Back in 2014, the locality shared a £1 million award from the Big Local Trust, shared with the neighbouring town, Turnford, to enhance the community.

Footballer David Bentley was raised near Wormley and started his youth career in Wormley youth football club before moving onto bigger things at the age of 13 at Arsenal youth football club.

The commute into central London isn’t the most reliable journey and can take upwards of an hour and a half, particularly when rail companies are under pressure. Additionally, the greater area of Broxbourne is currently concerned with a housing crisis that is rendering many people homeless.

Wormley is sitting right on the edge of one of the biggest developments the area has undergone in decades. Brookfield Garden Village is a multi million pound project that is set to be based on the outskirts of the neighbourhood. It will create 1,500 homes, a new school, and completely renovate the area as part of a riverside centre. In the broader scheme, the council hopes to build 7,700 new homes in the next 15 years in the broader constituency.