The Valley: what a family townhouse community should get right

The Valley is bought for reasons that do not photograph well. Almost every enquiry we take on it comes down to the same list: a garden, a park the children can reach without crossing a main road, parking that is not a negotiation, and a commute that is tolerable in both directions.

The daily test, not the weekend one

Visit on a weekday morning, not on a Saturday. The questions that matter are how the internal roads behave at school time, where the visitor parking actually is, and how long it takes to get out of the community and onto the highway when everyone else is doing the same thing.

Position inside the row

In a townhouse community the difference between a good unit and an ordinary one is usually its position in the row: an end unit with a wider plot, a corner that faces the park, or a mid-row unit whose garden loses the afternoon sun. Ask to see the plot layout for the specific row, not the community-wide one.

Who it suits

Upgraders leaving an apartment, and families who would rather have the garden than the address. It is a long-hold community rather than a quick one, and buyers who treat it that way tend to be happy with it.