Barking

Are you thinking about investing in Barking, starting a family there or pursuing further education? If so, here are some of the reasons why Barking in Essex might be the right choice for you.

House Prices 🏠

• Most expensive property: £1,100,000
• Average house price: £297,773
• Cheapest property: £125,000 (one bedroomed retirement apartment)

Property Investment 🏠 🏠

• Barking – and its neighbouring borough of Dagenham – has been shown to be the cheapest area in which to invest in property in London
• Indeed, 40% of all house purchases are made by first time buyers
• The Barking regeneration zone has also been identified as London’s most profitable area for buy to let landlords.

Economy ££

• The borough is at the heart of the Thames Gateway and the local council has given priority to economic regeneration.
• In the summer of 2016, former Deputy Prime Minister Michael Heseltine helped launch a commission for developing Barking and Dagenham’s economy and laid out a vision for the 2050 Thames Estuary Growth Commission
• Former industrial land in the south of the borough is being developed as a major housing project named Barking Riverside. 

Location and Transport 🚌

• Barking is less than 9 miles from central London (Charing Cross railway station)
• Barking station acts as a major local transport hub with connections to the London Overground railway network, the London Underground, East London Transit routes and London buses
• The town centre lies to the north of the A13 and has ready access to London’s North Circular Road.

Education 🎓  

• Barking is home to the London School of Management Education, the Adult College of Barking and Dagenham and Barking and Dagenham College
• According to the schools’ inspectorate Ofsted, the number of secondary and primary schools in Barking and Dagenham designated “good” or “better” has exceeded national development rates 

Environment 🌷

• There are three major parks in Barking – Barking Park, Mayesbrook Park and Valence Park (on the site of the former grounds and gardens of Valence Manor House)
• The Parks and Gardens Department of the local council encourages the use of its parks for those looking to keep fit

Trivia 🎬

Finally, did you know …

• Barking has had its fair share of celebrity residents, including Max Bygraves, Sandie Shaw, Vera Lynn, Dudley Moore and Billy Bragg
• Iconic recording artist Neil Young, together with the London Symphony Orchestra chose Barking Assembly Hall for the recording of the singer’s “A man needs a woman” and “There’s a world” for his best-selling album “Harvest”
• Barking and Dagenham was one of the six host boroughs for London’s Olympic Games in 2012.