The view from Stadia in Leyton

LONDON parks have been awarded top marks for cleanliness, safety and ­upkeep, which is great news if your house is lucky enough to have a park view.

The Green Flag Awards last week commended 191 parks and gardens in the capital, and that recognition can only bump up the asking price for neighbouring properties.

Homes flanking the award-winning Peckham Rye Park in south-east ­London, for example, have 6 to 10 per cent more value than others in the area, ­according to Chris Stewart of Acorn Estate Agents.

Further west in Ravenscourt Park in Hammersmith, one estate agent ­reckons proximity to the park carries more kudos than a riverside view.

“It depends on the person,” says David ­Sharron of Ravenscourt Residential. “If you will get a lot of use out of the green space and you don’t want to walk ­under the A4 to a river property every night, then Ravenscourt Road, which faces the park, will be more desirable.”

Most of the properties there are three or four ­storeys, double-fronted, ­detached houses starting at £800,000. Elsewhere, prices begin at £600,000.

If you don’t quite have the budget or use for four storeys, then look further from the centre, where blocks are ­often converted into flats.

The roads around Finsbury Park, for example, are stacked with converted flats. One-beds facing the Green Flag park are between £220,000 and £230,000, with two-beds going for £250,000, according to Rubin John, of estate agent Bairstow Eves.

“As with many London parks, the downside is that they’re surrounded by busy roads,” he says.

“So even though the flats on Seven Sisters Road look out to the park, prices are on a par with others that don’t.

“But properties near parks still appeal to first-time buyers, priced out of affording ­something with a garden.”

That was the case for ­nursery teacher Janine ­Atkins, 36, and her partner Jason who bought in the Parkside development on Seven Sisters Road.

"Properties near parks still appeal to first-time buyers, priced out of affording ­something with a garden"

“We don’t have a garden, only a balcony and, as we both work within walking distance, living near a park was more ­important than a Tube,” she says.

Janine and Jason own a 25 per cent share of a £275,000 two-bed flat. Developer ­Circle Anglia rents out the ­remaining 75 per cent share to the couple.

“The park is great for our 21-month-old son, but on Sundays there is a lot of ­football, so I don’t take the car out or I’ll lose my space.”

The last of the flats in ­Parkside are under offer but a block is under ­construction next door. And there are other park developments.

In Leyton, the Stadia ­development overlooks ­Coronation Gardens, which picked up a Green Flag Award. Telford Homes has two one-beds (£220,000) and five two-beds (£280,000) .

The Ruskin View development in Camberwell has views of Ruskin Park. ­Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward has 12 units available: 10 one-beds for £180,000 and two two-beds for £250,000.

So, there’s no excuse to miss your slice of parklife.

'There are lots of gentle, relaxing noises to hear’

Reflexologist Luci McQuitty, 37, and her partner ­Adam ­Hindmarsh, 38, a graphic ­designer, paid £565,000 in ­February last year for a three-bed ­terrace ­facing ­Victoria Park, ­Hackney

"Living near a park was very important to us, ­having worked in Shoreditch, which is very built-up. Here it feels like you’re living by a lung with fresher air and there’s also lots of gentle, relaxing noise like people ­chatting and playing.

"I say gentle, but not when there’s a concert on. We had Lovebox here a couple of weeks ago; it felt like Simon Le Bon [frontman of Duran Duran, the weekend festival’s headliners] was serenading me live while I was brushing my teeth.

"The only gripe is that when everyone flocks to the park on a sunny day, it’s impossible to find a parking space.

"That, and the fact you hear the odd police helicopter hovering above the park at night. Although I wouldn’t walk through it in the dark, I’ve never felt threatened there. In the past 10 years, I heard that it’s cleaned up its act. Once it used to be a no-go zone but now it’s a picturesque haven for yummy mummies.”