The second most desirable commuter town in the UK
Woking has recently been voted as the second most desirable commuter town, by TotallyMoney.com. Plus, the website found the average commuter in Woking spent over £1,000 less a year on travel costs than those commuting at the top-rated area of High Wycombe. These are two big reasons why commuters are flocking to Woking, providing a significant buy-to-let opportunity.
There are also various regeneration projects happening in Woking, one impressive site being Victoria Square. The area in Woking town centre is due to be completely regenerated, with building work starting in 2017. There will be three skyscrapers, up to an impressive 34 storeys high. The £250 million projects will house up to 392 apartments, a hotel, a new Marks & Spencer, as well as new plazas and plenty of parking.
Situated in the county of Surrey, Woking is an affluent area. It is within very easy reach of London, with trains only taking 30 minutes to reach London Waterloo.
The population of the borough is just over 99,000. this is a 10% rise from the 2001 census. 51% of Woking work as professionals, 10% higher than the UK average.
The property market in the district is booming, with the cost of residential property in the area currently a little above the national average, but significantly below the regional figure. Prices have risen some 2.15% in the last year, and 26% over the last five year period according to property website Zoopla.
In Woking, only 15% of people privately rent properties; a higher number of owner-occupiers, common in Surrey towns, means there is less no oversupply of rental accommodation.
Woking is also located only a half an hour drive from London Heathrow Airport, the UK’s busiest airport, another factor that makes it a good location for investors.
Although the proposed route for Crossrail 2 currently only stretches as far as Epsom, the new service will free up mainline rail routes into Waterloo. This should address the current overcrowding problem, during the rush hour commute into London, from areas like Woking.
Find out more with our free Woking Property Investment Guide.
Economy & Employment
Aeroplanes and supercars form the basis for Woking’s employment.
Woking town centre is currently undergoing a major £500 million transformation, which will create a high-quality, modern environment where businesses choose to locate and people aspire to live.
Woking Borough Council is very pro-active in promoting their region as the place to do business and ‘Woking 2027’ is the borough’s core strategy. Developed in 2010, the aim is to provide a positive approach to rapid, sustainable growth in the borough between its inception and the year 2027.
A major employer in the area for the masses is Heathrow airport which supports over 76,000 jobs on site. This is due to the commute taking just 25 minutes by car.
High performance ‘supercar’ manufacturer McLaren Automotive Invested £50 million in a new factory in 2010. Orders have surpassed expectations and in January 2016 they employed a further 250 staff, with a target to build 4000 cars a year by the end of 2017, with 3000 set for 2016.
In Woking, 51% of the working public are professionals, which is up 10% on the rest of the UK. Many of these people commute into London.
Find out more with our free Woking Property Investment Guide.
Investment
Woking is undergoing millions of pounds worth of regeneration.
Woking Borough Council is adopting several greener energy technologies. The Woking sustainable community energy system has its own power network and in the event of national grid failure, central Woking would continue to have an energy supply.
The Victoria square skyscraper project is scheduled to get underway at the beginning of 2017. It will be home to nearly 400 new apartments in three 34 storey buildings. The development will also feature new plazas and parking.
Evolution is another development underway on the Kingsmoor Park housing site. The plan is for a diverse residential area of 224 homes. There will be a mixture of flats as well as family homes and wheelchair accessible houses.
Woking also has planned for regenerating of the Sheerwater area. The proposed plans feature up 922 new residential units, as well as retail space in the area.
There are also plans in the area for a new health centre as well as the leisure centre including a swimming pool.
Woking Borough Council is adopting several greener energy technologies. The Woking sustainable community energy system has its own power network and in the event of national grid failure, central Woking would continue to have an energy supply.
The Victoria square skyscraper project is scheduled to get underway at the beginning of 2017. It will be home to nearly 400 new apartments in three 34 storey buildings. The development will also feature new plazas and parking.
Evolution is another development underway on the Kingsmoor Park housing site. The plan is for a diverse residential area of 224 homes. There will be a mixture of flats as well as family homes and wheelchair accessible houses.
Woking also has planned for a regenerating of the Sheerwater area. The proposed plans feature up 922 new residential units, as well as retail space in the area.
There are also plans in the area for a new health centre as well as the leisure centre including a swimming pool.
Transport
Air: Woking is situated just a 25-minute drive from London Heathrow Airport, which provides flights to 185 destinations in 84 countries throughout the world. Gatwick Airport is less than an hour away by road.
Rail: Woking railway station is on the Alton Line, as well as the Portsmouth Direct Line, the South Western Main Line and the West of England Main Line. There are frequent trains to and from London Waterloo with journey times in the region of 25 to 30 minutes. There is also a twice hourly Waterloo to Woking service that calls at many stations along its route.
Road: The district is located adjacent to both the M3 and M4 Motorways, linking to the M25 motorway, providing excellent links with the rest of the country’s road network.
Bus: Extensive bus and coach services operate throughout the borough. These are run by National Express, Abelio Surrey and Arriva.
Education
Woking has 28 Primary Schools, 5 Secondary Schools and 3 Specialist Schools within its catchment area. These include facilities for the Deaf and Autism Spectrum Pupils.
Notable schools include:
St. John the Baptist Comprehensive School, located in Elmbridge Lane. Rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted inspectors, this co-educational school caters for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18 years. In 2010 the school achieved a 100% pass rate at A-level. The school is also one of the country’s first ‘teaching schools.’ These are outstanding schools that work with others to provide high-quality training and development to new and experienced school staff. They are part of the government’s plan to give schools a central role in raising standards by developing a self-improving and sustainable school-led system.
Further Education:
Sixth form education is amply catered for by Woking College. Based in Old Woking, the college caters for around 1,000 students from 16 to 19 years of age.
Woking is also home to the Tante Marie cookery school, the UK’s oldest established professional cookery school.
Shops & Leisure
Shopping & Dining: Woking Shopping, the biggest shopping centre in Surrey, is spread across Wosley Place and Peacock Place. The main area for evening entertainment is around Chertsey Road, which houses many varied food outlets, such as Indian and Chinese restaurants, pubs and bars and nightclubs.
Sport & Culture: Woking has an indoor swimming pool and a separate leisure centre which is located at Pool in the Park, opposite Woking Leisure Centre. Outdoor facilities include a skatepark, tennis courts, five-a-side football pitches, a cricket pitch, bowling greens, crazy golf and a children’s adventure playground. These leisure facilities are all located within the attractively landscaped Woking Park, which is only a few minutes’ walk to the town centre.
Woking also has the largest public library in Surrey which is located in the town square and also has a Wellsian Martian Tripod; a statue celebrating the H.G. Wells’ book The War of the Worlds. The Lightbox is Woking’s arts and heritage centre located adjacent to the Basingstoke Canal.
Green Spaces: There are many green spaces in and around Woking, and the scene at St. Peter’s Church, Old Woking is an inspiration for many local artists, as is another local beauty spot at the lock at St John’s Lye.
