As London Mayor Boris Johnson spread the plans for Hendon across his desk, he knew he would be taking a risk promoting the area as a redevelopment zone. More than 20 years earlier, his mentor Michael Heseltine had done the same with the plans for London's Docklands. It was to take more than a decade for Heseltine to reap the political rewards for backing Docklands. Until then, he was characterised as mahout of the capital's biggest ever white elephant. So Boris will be pleased at how Hendon – albeit on a smaller scale than the Isle of Dogs – has moved so quickly into political profit.
As a mark of the area's successful reboot, it is becoming a desirable area for affluent commuters. The latest collection of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and penthouses in Ashley Lane in Hendon is now more than 50 per cent sold. Asprey Park's show flat is now open. Consisting of 55 purpose-built flats, this gated development by City & Westminster Developments is set in five buildings around gardens.
Half way between Hendon Central and Mill Hill East, the development makes a virtue of its location. A private shuttle bus from the development to Hendon Central station will run twice a day.
One-bedroom apartments start at £355,000; two-bedrooms at £489,000 and threes at £635,000. Agents are Preston Bennett and Glentree.
Meanwhile, Barratt Homes and the Metropolitan housing association are knocking down 680 homes in order to build more than 2,000 new ones in their place. Along with the multi-million-pound rejuvenation of nearby Brent Cross and Cricklewood, the work here aims to create a 'new gateway for London' and see this part of Barnet emerge as a new urban quarter. At Barratt's Hendon Waterside scheme, there are two-bedroom flats currently available from £441,000 to £662,000.
The same developer is offering two-bedroom apartments at Green Lane in Edgware from £440,000, and in a development of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments and three- and four-bedroom houses. The next phase, The Lanes, will be four-bedroom homes.
And it is not just North London. Boris Johnson's regeneration plans for Nine Elms in Vauxhall are bearing fruit, with the US embassy moving there. Catford Green in Lewisham is another. Both of these include a role for Barratt. History may yet judge that the mayor exceeded his mentor.
