Southall – vibrant, diverse and closer to London than ever before
Southall is located in the London Borough of Ealing and is situated 11 miles west of Charing Cross, and around 6 miles north-east of Heathrow. Access to the M4 and M25 is just three and seven miles away respectively.
Southall has a population of approximately 65,000 and is multicultural. Southall Broadway is often known as Little India, due to its huge selection of restaurants, clothing, jewellery, spice shops and all things Indian. It has more festivals, processions and celebrations than any other town, due to the diversity of its resident's cultures.
Southall property has a 2016 overall average price of £261,714 and has increased by 11.1% on the previous year, and 30% up on 2012. Prices are expected to rise a further 4.17% above the local housing price growth when Crossrail is completed in the area in 2019.
Southall will also be served by the new Elizabeth Line and will have travelling times to Heathrow of just 8 minutes, Bond Street in 17 minutes, Liverpool Street in 24 minutes and Canary Wharf in 31 minutes, cutting average commuting times nearly in half for those living in the area.
Southall station is also benefiting from major improvements as part of the Crossrail programme. A new forecourt will reduce congestion at the entrance to the station and a light, spacious ticket hall will provide a more welcoming environment for passengers.
A new footbridge, new lifts to provide step-free access to the platforms, new lighting, customer information screens, station signage, help points and CCTV will all be included. Works are scheduled to be completed in mid-2017.
With already great connectivity, relatively low housing costs and all these improvements to the rail network, Southall will be a new and attractive residential option for commuters.
Economy & Employment
Heathrow Airport is the major employer of Southall's residents.
Heathrow Airport, the UK’s largest and busiest airport, is located a mere six miles north-east of Southall. It’s one of the largest employment sites not just in the area, but in the UK. Over 76,600 people work within the airport boundary and approximately 40,000 additional local jobs are supported by Heathrow’s spin-off operations. Heathrow’s related GVA accounts for 0.8% of the UK’s GVA, which is a huge contribution to the economy from a single employment site.
Southall Manor House has been identified as a possible venue for a restaurant and training centre which will offer apprenticeships in the catering and hospitality sector.
SMEs in Southall cater for local employment. The area is renowned for its significant number of restaurants catering for all ethnic cuisines, along with ethnic retail outlets and jewellers. Little India is a hive of activity.
Being just over ten miles from Kings Cross, a large number of Southall’s residents are also London City commuters.
Investment
Southall is beginning to benefit from Crossrail
Developers are investing more than £12.5 million towards Crossrail, which will serve Southall. The Crossrail link will not only aid commuters but opens up local businesses for an increase in commerce as Southall becomes an area that’s much more easily accessible.
Southall has been awarded £4.4m from the Mayor’s Regeneration Fund, along with £1.4m from Ealing Council and £1.9m from Transport for London, kickstarting the revitalisation of Southall. This investment will support the Shaping Southall project, a programme of improvements to streets, shop fronts and public spaces. It aims to create a more clearly defined town centre which will accommodate, and benefit from, business attracted by Crossrail's arrival.
At the same time, initiatives like the Southall Charter are helping local residents, enterprises and community groups to work together and establish a vision for Southall’s future growth.
Southall’s Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) is promoting affordable workspaces for SMEs and a series of junction improvements to improve traffic flow. It’s also promoting sustainable modes of transport through a new cycle and footbridge over the railway.
Southall's successful bid to the London Enterprise Panel won an allocation of £6.8m of Growing Places Funding to deliver two key junctions and develop land immediately adjacent to the station.
Transport
Crossrail is Europe’s biggest engineering project and is set to arrive in Southall in 2019. The new Elizabeth Line will be able to reach Heathrow in 8 minutes, Bond Street in 17 minutes, Liverpool Street in 24 minutes and Canary Wharf in 31 minutes, nearly halving the current travel times.
Air: London Heathrow Airport is a mere six miles to the south-west of Southall.
Rail: Southall station is in Zone 4 and passenger services are provided by Great Western Railway from London Paddington to Reading, Oxford and Newbury, and by Heathrow Connect from Paddington to Heathrow Airport.
Road: The main east/west road through the town is Uxbridge Road (A4020). Access to the M4 and M25 are just three and seven miles away respectively.
Bus: A comprehensive day and night bus service exists from Southall.
Education
Southall is home to 19 primary schools, 3 secondary schools and 2 independent schools.
Notable institutions: Drayton Manor High School is an academy with more than 1,000 students. The secular school is considered Outstanding by Ofsted. It caters to children from all styles of backgrounds, between the ages of 11 to 19 years.
Greenford High School is now a foundation school, which has over 1,600 students enrolled. More than 550 of these are in the new sixth form. A co-educational school for 11 to 19-year-olds, it's a Specialist Language College, a Training school and part of the Leading Edge Partnership programme.
Further and Higher Education: The nearest university is the University of West London in nearby Brentford, which is home to the School of Psychology, Social Care and Human Sciences, College of Nursing, Midwifery and Healthcare, and The Claude Littner Business School.
Shops & Leisure
Shopping & Dining: Southall Broadway is a world famous shopping area and very popular with London’s shoppers. The main shopping area stretches along Southall Broadway on Uxbridge Road. Southall Market is open on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. The area is renowned for its great selection of ethnic restaurants, drawing patrons from great distances.
Culture: There’s no better time to visit Southall than around the Festival of Lights, Diwali. It is generally celebrated in late October or early November, at which time Southall becomes a hive of activity as the local community prepares for one of the biggest festivals of the year. Diwali is celebrated by the Hindu, Sikh and Jain communities and represents the victory of light over darkness.
Green Spaces: Southall Park is mainly formal parkland with sections set aside for nature conservation. It also has a playground, play centre and a tennis court. Other features include the mosaic globe designed by local school children and a water cascade.
In December 2014 The Veolia Environmental Trust awarded a grant of £6,789 to pay for improvements at the Wolf Fields site in Norwood Road. It is regenerating the green space, creating an organic allotment, a sensory garden and a pond.
