Woolwich’s renaissance continues

Royal Arsenal is a new residential hub and community in Woolwich, created by Berkeley Homes East Thames on the site of a former centre for military equipment and munitions manufacturing. The scheme fuses converted Grade II listed buildings with contemporary new build architecture offering new homes, office space, leisure outlets and landscaped communal areas.

Royal Arsenal is playing a massive part in Woolwich’s regeneration and, together with a raft of new transport links, is turning the town in to a desirable destination.

One purchaser at Royal Arsenal was so impressed with the Berkeley Homes development that he chose to buy in Woolwich, rather than Clapham. In fact, Scott Dicken was so convinced that the area is on the up that he purchased two properties at Royal Arsenal.

Scott, who works in the international development sector, wanted to move to London from Chelmsford following a career change. He had originally been looking at homes in Clapham, but felt disappointed by what he could get for his money.

“Once I began searching for a property it was clear that Clapham was overpriced. The properties within my budget were too small and the inflated house prices were a reflection of the hip reputation the area has. So I began to look further into South London at properties located within easy reach of stations on the London Bridge railway line.”

Scott found Royal Arsenal when he was researching properties on the internet and was so impressed he purchased a two-bedroom apartment at the Wellington Apartments.

“The transport links to and from London ensured I could travel to work easily either by train or by the Thames Clipper Fast Ferry service. I was also very aware of the benefit the Olympics would have on property prices in the area. A number of events are being held very close to Royal Arsenal, including gymnastics at the O2 and shooting at Woolwich Barracks.

“This coupled with the extension of the DLR to Woolwich, which is due to open in early 2009, looks set to have a fantastic effect on property prices in the area, ensuring my apartment doubled up as an investment.”

With this in mind, once Scott was settled in his apartment, he decided to purchase a second property at Royal Arsenal. Scott bought a one-bedroom apartment in the latest phase, The Armouries, for investment purposes.

Like Scott Dicken, Sarah Lewis, Secretary General of the International Ski Federation (a part of the International Olympic Committee), and her partner Jorn were keen to take part in Woolwich’s regeneration. They decided to purchase an apartment in Artillery House at Royal Arsenal as they could see the area’s potential.

Sarah comments: “Having seen first-hand how hosting the Olympics helps develop and improve a city, when London won the bid for the 2012 games I was fortunate enough to be able to react to the news by purchasing a property in the area. I believe Royal Arsenal’s proximity to the London 2012 Olympic sites and especially the significant transport improvements in the area are going to make the properties a good investment in terms of their future value.”

For more information, visit Berkeleyhomes.co.uk.