Official Name: | English Village |
Pushpin Map: | Iraqi Kurdistan#Iraq |
Coordinates: | 36.1928°N 43.9717°W |
Subdivision Type: | Country |
Subdivision Name: | Iraq |
Subdivision Type1: | Autonomous region |
Subdivision Type2: | Province |
Subdivision Type3: | Municipality |
Subdivision Name2: | Erbil Governorate |
Subdivision Name3: | Erbil |
Area Total Ha: | 26 |
English Village is a British-built luxury housing compound located in western Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. The compound contains identical villas, the vast majority of which are used as offices for companies.[1] English Village is among several modern compounds in Erbil named after Western countries, such as American Village, Italian Village and German Village.[2] [3] It represents an economic boom that occurred in Erbil at the turn of the 2010s.[4]
The compound was built by a consortium named Hawler Housing Project (Hawler is Kurdish for Erbil),[5] following a 2004 initiative from the UK Foreign Office Trade and Industry Department, in cooperation with British property development company J.M. Jones & Sons. Construction and sales began in early 2006. The compound cost to develop. By 2011, companies had started slowly moving into newer compounds with cheaper rent prices.[6]
In July 2019, an illicit gambling scheme operating out of a casino in English Village was shut down by the Kurdish security forces.[7]
English Village contains 420 villas, covering a total of 26hectare.[8] Each villa has 235sqm of floor space on two floors and contains five bedrooms, full air conditioning, fitted kitchens and two bathrooms with combined Eastern and Western toilets. The villas are reported to have a reliable electricity supply and sanitation system, in contrast to other areas of Erbil and Iraq. The compound also contains a school and five-storey shopping centre.
In 2006, the purchase cost of each villa was,[9] while in 2008 it was, and in 2011 it was . In 2011, the rent cost was around per month.
The complex is populated mostly by upper-class locals, foreign businesspeople and aid workers. The vast majority of villas in the complex are used as offices for companies.
In 2019, GQ Australia featured English Village in a photography series on the urban development of Erbil.[10] [11]