The Underground station built for country’s largest council estate in …
Essex's incredibly close connection to London means that parts of our fantastic county have, over time, been adopted into the expanding capital. This is despite many residents there still saying they are true Essex residents and not Londoners.
Being part of London means that residents have access to the impressive Underground network, a transport scheme which sees millions of passengers monthy. But one lesser-known station in Dagenham, formerly part of Essex, was built purposefully for the Becontree Estate, an area of the country which has around 26,000 homes covering four square miles according to MyLondon[1].
The Becontree Estate was built in the 1920s and 30s. The estate is served by Becontree Underground station, which sees roughly 3.5 million passengers pass through every year hopping on District line trains that travel to Upminster in the East, all the way to Wimbledon, Richmond and Ealing Broadway in the West.
The Estate is situated in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham, and while the borough is known for having some of the city’s cheapest properties, residents are still being heavily impacted by rising costs.
It is also the home to World Cup-winning manager Sir Alf Ramsey, actor and comedian Dudley Moore, and Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey.
MyLondon spoke to some locals last year about life in the estate and they said it was a great place to live but some were concerned about rising costs.
Roy Savery and his partner Brenda McKee, who have lived on the estate for 50 years said: "You have to watch your money anyhow but now we’re short and it’s going to get worse. It’s not only us, it’s youngsters as well, it’s the next generation, we have got to think of them. I feel for the young people, they've got it coming."
It appears as though rising costs are also being reflected in Becontree's property prices. Last year, properties in the area had an overall average price of £374,643. But according to Zoopla[3], just three years prior in 2019, the same properties were going for £301,562.
References
- ^ MyLondon (www.mylondon.news)
- ^ Essex woman missing for six years may have been murdered (www.essexlive.news)
- ^ according to Zoopla (www.zoopla.co.uk)