Bellway at QEII

Shopping

Welwyn’s main commercial district is focused around the Howard Centre mall and its surrounding streets, such as Stonehills, Howardsgate, Parkway and Fretherne Road. Here familiar chain and department stores sit alongside independent and specialist retailers offering a wide range of goods. The Galleria at Hatfield is also popular with shoppers. This outlet mall is home to more than 80 stores, as well as restaurants and cafés, all less than 10 minutes’ drive from the development.

Leisure

For movie fans, the Galleria has a multiplex cinema that shows the latest releases and blockbusters, while Welwyn Garden City Cinema in Welwyn town centre screens arthouse films and world cinema. Performance venues include The Hawthorn Theatre and the Barn Theatre, both of which stage regular dramatic, musical and family productions.

The area benefits from a wealth of sporting facilities: the 50-acre Gosling Sports Park, a short drive away on Stanborough Road, has a dry ski slope, gym, football pitches, an athletics track, velodrome, swimming pool, tennis and squash courts, as well as children’s play areas. There are three golf courses within three miles of QEII – Mill Green Golf Club, Panshanger Golf Complex and Welwyn Garden City Golf Club, and the town is also home to hockey, sailing, running, cricket and football clubs.

Education

For families, there are a number of well-regarded schools in the local area that cater for primary and secondary-age pupils. Commonswood Primary and Nursery School is a 10-minute walk from these new homes in Welwyn Garden City, while Creswick Primary and Nursery School is less than 20 minutes’ walk away and Stanborough School can be reached in around five minutes by car. Post-16 education providers include Oaklands College, which has a campus less than three miles from the development, and the University of Hertfordshire, 10 minutes’ drive away.

Transport

Situated around 20 minutes from London by train, Bellway at QEII is ideal for professionals commuting to the capital. Residents have the choice of two railway stations – Hatfield, or Welwyn Garden City – both around two miles away and both with frequent services to Potters Bar, Finsbury Park, Old Street, Moorgate and London Kings Cross. Major roads nearby include the A1, for travel to London and the north, and the A414, for Hertford, Harlow and Chelmsford to the east, and St Albans and Hemel Hempstead to the west. Journey times to central London are around 50 minutes via the A1.