It’s not a place many people have heard of, but it’s not like many other settlements in the capital
(Image: John Salmon / Geograph, CC)
London’s public transport network is one of the most extensive globally, with a remarkable 96 per cent of Londoners residing just 400 metres from a bus route. In 2021, Mayor Sadiq Khan revealed TfL’s ambitious plan to ensure that 99 per cent of Londoners were within 600 metres of a bus route.
The remaining one per cent are essentially farmhouses and rural cottages on the outskirts of London. However, there’s one small village that bucks this trend. Noak Hill, barely within the M25 motorway and just inside the borough of Havering, is the anomaly. It’s essentially a cluster of houses, businesses, a church, school and temple gathered around a T-junction. BUt house prices are about £200k cheaper than the London average/
(Image: Aubrey Morandarte / CC)
The ‘village’ is just over 600 metres from the nearest bus stop at Wincanton Drive, which is actually on the furthest edge of Harold Hill. Despite their close proximity, the two areas are vastly different, separated by a country lane (Noak Hill Road) and several fields, reports MyLondon.
The ‘Noak Hill’ bus stop is the terminus of routes 256, 294 and school route 646, which all display ‘Noak Hill’ on their destination screens even though it is not in the village proper, as shown in the map below. While Noak Hill is not completely devoid of public transport, it does pose some challenges.
A ten-minute walk from the village church will get you to the nearest bus stop, and for those who can’t make the journey on foot, minicabs or a dial-a-ride service are available.
Unlike the nearby Havering-atte-Bower, which boasts a suitable turning point at the Passingford Bridge roundabout, Noak Hill village’s road layout doesn’t offer an appropriate spot for a bus to terminate. Hence, the village remains without bus service.
House prices in Noak Hill have an overall average of £411,389 over the last year, according to RightMove. (London average £653,631) The majority of properties sold in Noak Hill during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £384,769. Semi-detached properties sold for an average of £528,312, with flats fetching £215,800. Overall, the historical sold prices in Noak Hill over the last year were 7% down on the previous year and similar to the 2022 peak of £408,699.
Despite its secluded feel, Noak Hill isn’t the most remote location in Greater London. There are several villages and hamlets in the borough of Bromley that are even more rural, yet they’re all served by TfL bus routes centred on Orpington, notably the R5, R7, R8 and R10 routes.
These routes only operate a few times a day and run on a ‘hail and ride’ basis, stopping anywhere safe instead of fixed bus stops. Many of the country lanes these routes traverse don’t have pavements on both sides, so fixed bus stops could potentially obstruct traffic.
Just beyond the village, over the M25 in Essex, you’ll find Old MacDonald’s Farm and Fun Park and Weald Country Park, both of which bring road traffic through the area. Apart from this, the village is relatively peaceful, and all the homes furthest from the bus stop have off-street parking.
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