Watford

Professional Photographers Watford Hertfordshire

Approximate Population: 79,600

Watford is a major regional centre for the northern home counties. It is the most westerly of these commercial centres and the only one in Hertfordshire. Hertfordshire County Council designates Watford and Stevenage to be its major sub-regional centres, heading its list of preferred sites for retail development. The primary shopping area is the Harlequin Shopping Centre, a large purpose-built indoor mall with over 140 shops, restaurants and cafes built during the 1990s, opened officially in June 1992.

The High Street, running through the town centre, is the main focus of activity at night having a high concentration of the town’s bars, clubs and restaurants.

The head offices of a number of national companies such as Camelot Group, operator of the National Lottery; Iveco, manufacturers of commercial vehicles; Haden Young, the building services division of Balfour Beatty; Bathstore, the largest bathroom retailer in the UK; construction firm Taylor Woodrow; and Mothercare, are located in the town.   The borough is also the UK base of many multi-nationals including Total Oil, Sanyo, TK Maxx, Costco, Vinci, and Beko.

The town was home to the Scammell Lorries Factory from 1922 until its closure in 1988. The site is now a residential area. Plans are underway to develop a new Health Campus complete with heliport adjacent to the site of the current Watford General Hospital.

Professional Photographers Watford Hertfordshire

St. Albans

Professional Photographers

St. Albans Hertfordshire

Approximate Population: 64,038

Apart from its historic core, St Albans is highly suburban in character, with much of its housing stock built in the inter-war years and during post-war expansion. Now entirely surrounded by the Metropolitan Green Belt, it is seeing significant ‘infill’ development and pressure to relax the Green Belt restrictions.

St Albans District (which also includes Harpenden) has house prices considerably above the national average.   The most recent figures give an average house price of £328,820 against a national average of £199,184.   St Albans city, according to figures from Nationwide Building Society, is currently considered to be the most expensive place to live in the UK outside Central London.

This is largely due to fast commuting to London, especially the City, by train. The local road transport network is another factor: St Albans is at the meeting point of the A5183 (the old A5 or Watling Street) and the A1081 (the old A6); the M25 runs east-west just south of the city; and both the M1, only a few miles to the west, and the A1(M), five miles (8 km) to the east, can provide fast connections to London and the north.

Professional Photographers St. Albans Hertfordshire