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Neighbourhood profile
Harlesden & Kensal Green
Brent, London
PocketsHarlesden (Craven Park Road · Acton Lane · west · Roundwood Park · Harrow Road · Park Parade · Willesden Junction)Kensal Green (Elmwood Green · west)Church End
Harlesden and Kensal Green sits in south Brent between the Grand Union Canal and the Willesden railway lands, just north of Kensal Green Cemetery. Harlesden grew from a Saxon farmstead — Herewulf's Tun in the Domesday Book — into a railway suburb after the Great Western and London & Birmingham lines cut through in 1837–38. The ward is entirely inside a conservation area, with six listed buildings including the Grade II* Church of All Souls and the Grade II Jubilee Clock at the Harlesden High Street junction. Transport is solid: Willesden Junction, Harlesden and Kensal Green stations put most of central London within thirty minutes, and bus routes along the Harrow Road are frequent. The food and music scene is lively — around 119 food venues, with Harlesden's long-standing Caribbean music and food presence underpinning its culture score. The drawbacks are severe. Safety scores are low, air-quality is among the worst in Brent thanks to the North Circular and freight lines, and green space is almost absent with just 2.9 hectares — Elmwood Green is tiny. Residents walk to Roundwood Park for proper open space.
- Strongest58Nature Access
Strong access to green space and waterways
- Also strong55Heritage
Dense with listed buildings and conservation-area coverage
- Watch out10Area development
Little recent major-development activity
At a glance
- Good public-transport access
- 6 listed buildings
- 100% covered by a conservation area
- 2 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: Elmwood Green (0.7 hectares)
- 223 open venues (122 food and drink, 101 other)
10 pockets across 3 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
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Harlesden began as a Saxon farmstead — Herewulf's Tun — and appears in the Domesday Book of 1086 as a manor held by the Canons of St Paul's.
Harlesden & Kensal Green, layer by layer
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Scores as of 23 Aug 2026 · prices to 2026 · crime to Jun 2026 · air 2022 · sources
Property prices & growth
40Better than 26% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability45
- Rent affordability55
- Price momentum (5yr)37
- Activity (turnover)28
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Prices, rent & trends
£ per square foot to buy, an estimated 2-bed rent, and decades of sale-price history for this ward.
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: 120 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
34Better than 20% of London
- Personal safety30
- Property crime37
- Anti-social behaviour36
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Safety deep-dive
Every recorded crime type — burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and more — grouped into personal, property and anti-social behaviour, with the monthly trend for this ward.
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
55Better than 69% of London
Median public-transport access is good (TfL PTAL 4.0 of 8 across this ward).
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Connectivity deep-dive
Real TfL journey times to London's major hubs, plus this ward's transport access rank across London.
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
36Better than 29% of London
- Air quality20
- Quietness60
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Air & noise deep-dive
NO₂, PM2.5 and road/rail noise for this ward, each against WHO / UK limits.
Cultural Signal
38Better than 78% of London
- Nightlife14
- Dining43
- Arts & culture14
- Retail & shops36
- Sports & recreation0
- Independent scene71
- Vitality (openings, diversity)69
223 open venues nearby — 122 food & drink, 101 other.
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Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: the mix behind 223 open venues—% independent
Education
54Better than 55% of London
- Primary schools52
- Secondary schools56
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School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: 7 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
55Better than 76% of London
6 listed buildings · 100% under a conservation area
- Church of All SoulsGrade II*
- The Jubilee ClockGrade II
- Church of St MatthewGrade II
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
58Better than 35% of London
- Green spaces76
- Waterways25
Largest green space: Elmwood Green (1 ha). ~3 ha of green space in total.
Area development
10Better than 72% of London
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Planning pipeline
Named recent approvals with homes and floorspace, the local homes pipeline, and the affordable share.
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- Prices — £ per square foot, an estimated rent, and the ward’s full price history
- Safety — crime by type with its monthly trend
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- Schools, air & noise — every school’s inspection record, air & noise against WHO limits
- What's next — the venue mix, what’s been approved to build nearby, and cheaper areas that score like Harlesden & Kensal Green
For Harlesden & Kensal Green: 120 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min7 schools' inspection records223 venues mapped
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What's changing in Harlesden & Kensal Green
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Harlesden & Kensal Green, quick answers
- Is Harlesden & Kensal Green safe?
- Harlesden & Kensal Green scores 34 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — recording more crime than most London wards. The score weighs personal safety, property crime and anti-social behaviour separately rather than ranking on one raw total, so the mix of crime matters as well as the volume.
- Is Harlesden & Kensal Green a good place to live?
- Harlesden & Kensal Green scores 42 overall when all nine data layers are weighted equally. The London comparison beside the score shows how that number ranks against every ward. Its strongest suits are nature access (58) and heritage (55); its weakest is area development (10). Whether it suits you depends on what you weight — the same data re-ranked around your own priorities can read very differently.
- How well connected is Harlesden & Kensal Green?
- Good public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in Harlesden & Kensal Green 4 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 55 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is Harlesden & Kensal Green expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, Harlesden & Kensal Green is mid-priced by London standards: its purchase-affordability score is 9/20, where higher means cheaper per square foot (HM Land Registry sold prices matched to floor areas).
- What are the schools like near Harlesden & Kensal Green?
- Harlesden & Kensal Green scores 54 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 2 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
Wards with a similar profile
- Wembley Central · Brent
- Hermitage & Gardens · Haringey
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- Tottenham Central · Haringey
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Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
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