Well Connected:
One very specific attribute of living on the Barbican Estate is that it has to be already one of the best connected residential complexes in the country with respect to transport links. It has both east-west and north-south underground lines at Moorgate, not to forget the Great Northern commuter lines out of the same station; the Liverpool Street rail terminus only a short walk away giving access to the east of the country, Bank and the Docklands Light Railway and the Waterloo and City line, with its direct connection to Waterloo serving the south and the southwest, while only another short walk away is Farringdon with its Thameslink connections. The Kings Cross/St Pancras and London Bridge rail termini are also relatively close to the north and south respectively providing direct rail access to the north of England and Europe from the former and the south and southeast from the latter..
And all this is even before the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), which runs right under the Barbican, opens by the end of the current year and gets fully up and running by late 2019. With station access to the Liverpool Street Elizabeth Line station at Moorgate, and to the Farringdon one at Barbican, property values for the Barbican and the Golden Lane Estates could surely potentially see a substantial boost, more than countering the recent price weaknesses noted by some of our local estate agents commented on in our Flatwatch section in this issue.
In the previous issue of Barbican Life we published an article looking at the likely benefits which will occur along the Crossrail path. The article primarily looked at the boosts the new east-west rail link might bring to outlying areas along its route, but it should be equally beneficial, if not more so, to centre city businesses and residential communities impacted directly by the link. And our northern part of the City of London will be one of the areas which may well gain the most.
As we pointed out in the introduction to the Elizabeth Line benefits article, the plethora of new office developments surrounding the Barbican and within easy reach of the Moorgate/Liverpool Street and Barbican/Farringdon station accesses is just an initial indicator of the prospective business growth in our area – but we are also seeing new residential accommodation being built to accommodate the area demand. Longstanding residential complexes en route, like the Barbican, will undoubtedly see increasing demand, both from those keen to live in close proximity to their new offices, and from those who will see residential options along the route as being extremely convenient wherever they may work in areas served by it.
With Heathrow only just over half an hour away and the Canary Wharf office complexes even closer timewise the Barbican, with its already positive ambience emanating from its arts complex, gardens and lakes, and its relatively large and very strongly constructed apartments, could really come into its own. Add to this the prospective boost from the Culture Mile proposals which will aid area regeneration further, and what is already a great place to dwell will have an even stronger appeal as a brilliant place to live in a city centre environment. We are already well-connected in the best sense and the new links and business growth will only add to the appeal.
