Is central Peckham/Queens Rd Peckham as rough as its made out to be?

[Grotty]

As a first time buyer who finally achieved some kind of deposit after years saving only to be told that 10% meant nothing in this market, i am looking further afield than the peckham rye/east dulwich outskirts i had hoped for....seen some truly lovely, completely affordable and rather generously sized properties in roads set between peckham high st and old kent rd. Said roads are also amidst the high rises/low rises that have brought peckham its infamy. I have been told by acquaintances that this area should be a no-go....noise, fighting, police, helicopters as a daily occurrence with people too scared to come out of their front doors ??!!??. Is it really this bad? I grew up in peckham rye and have never felt unsafe around peckham but am i to be floored by the reputation of the "inner depths of peckhams worst"....please help....

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Go for it. I lived for eight years on Queen's Road with no problems.

Location is all of course, but if you are buying for your own home and not to make a quick buck, then I'd go for the biggest/most generous proportions you can afford.

[kongjabar]

hello i've lived in a road off queens rd, the nunhead side for 4 years and have had no problems at all. the road we are on is v quiet, we have lovely neighbours, either side of us have lived here for over 30 years and lots of young people recently have moved into the road too. obviously queens rd is a busy road,you will get police cars etc... but it's the same in any part of london, i think? we bought here after realising we could get a whole house and a garden with free parking for the same price as a 2 bed flat in east dulwich, which is where we wanted to be, but actually it's only 30 min walk to lordship lane and peckham rye and that's fine for us :) if you want to talk more about the area, please pm me. we may be putting our house on the market in the new year :)

[intexasatthe moment]

Maybe tell us what roads you're considering ?

My 88 year old mum lives near Lidls in Peckham and I can promise you her place is much quieter than East Dulwich.She never has any trouble ,even when she staggers out to the shops in Rye Lane.

[Josh]

Don't do it. Bad place to be in a recession, and your home will just be a bolt-hole as there's nothing whatsoever to do in the surrounding area. Do yourself a favour and carry on renting (somewhere nice) and saving.

[Grotty]

"Maybe tell us what roads you're considering ?"

Looking at properties on Furley Rd/Marmont Rd - i.e. north of peckham high st

If the aim is to be close-ish to Peckham/E.Dulwich (at a push) - affordable places remain Queens Rd peckham/Nunhead. It is proving difficult to weigh up the options;

Queens Rd Peckham - bad reputation, not so picturesque, central, close to peckham, exciting vibe, good transport (bus/train)

Nunhead - lovely looking, good pubs, nice community feel, but quiet and not so good transport

quiet but out-of-the way vs. not quiet but easy to get to - have i got this right? - which wins?

[will dex]

old kent road aldi - manager held up and gunpoint, bound and gagged. say.no.more.

[Keef]

old kent road aldi - manager held up and gunpoint, bound and gagged. say.no.more.

About 2 years ago, local East Dulwich post office owner actually shot during robbery.

Say no more.

[DeptfordDiva]

I think since they knocked down the big estate on Queens Rd it has improved somewhat. I work around Nunhead and Peckham quite a lot and it doesnt seem that bad, buy hey, i live in Deptford!! I think theres good parts and bad parts of every area, you just got to hope you find a good part.

[Jimbob]

its handy for the den

[Peckhamgatecrasher]

Hear, hear Jimbob; I lived in Bermondsey which was even closer. Couldn't wait to get back to Peckham however.

I also lived opposite the flats that were demolished. Never had a problem.

Apart from waiting a little longer for the market to drop a tad more, I would go for north Peckham.

[kristymac1]

'quiet but out-of-the way vs. not quiet but easy to get to - have i got this right? - which wins?'

For me definitely the former, but maybe I'm at that time of life. Affordability is of course very important, but so is being somewhere where you can feel reasonably safe walking to and from your home at different times of day/night.

Good luck where-ever you choose to be....

[pebs]

Keep saving for another year and buy in your preferred area; this crash has only just started....

[snorky]

Hold steady- the mecca of ED is an attainable dream once the BTL crowd begin to jump ship

[AllforNun]

go for it - stay away from North Cross Road in East Dulwich though. 1 armed robbery, the sweet shop done over. securicor van snatch at the bottom of the road and 2 muggings....say no more.

[MadWorld74]

the prices in ED are falling, and quite quickly. Wait and get something somewhere you really want.

[Horsebox]

Also beware of the Crystal Palace Road / Goodrich Road crime hotspot: Dillip, the owner of the yellow shop on CPR was the victim of armed robbery, as was the owner of the (now closed down and converted to a house) newsagent on Goodrich, between CPR and Barry Road, both within the last 18 months.

Say no more.

[Eileen]

Grotty Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> As a first time buyer who finally achieved some

> kind of deposit after years saving only to be told

> that 10% meant nothing in this market, i am

> looking further afield than the peckham rye/east

> dulwich outskirts i had hoped for....seen some

> truly lovely, completely affordable and rather

> generously sized properties in roads set between

> peckham high st and old kent rd. Said roads are

> also amidst the high rises/low rises that have

> brought peckham its infamy. I have been told by

> acquaintances that this area should be a

> no-go....noise, fighting, police, helicopters as a

> daily occurrence with people too scared to come

> out of their front doors ??!!??. Is it really this

> bad? I grew up in peckham rye and have never felt

> unsafe around peckham but am i to be floored by

> the reputation of the "inner depths of peckhams

> worst"....please help....

visit St John's Church 10 Meeting House Lane one Sunday and ask them. They must know what it is really like to live round there if it's anywhere near Queens Road/Asylum Road you are thinking of. Or similarly go to any church on a Sunday in the neighbourhood you are interested in. Good place to get a feel for an area talking to the congregation members and the local vicar...

[indiepanda]

Horsebox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Also beware of the Crystal Palace Road / Goodrich

> Road crime hotspot: Dillip, the owner of the

> yellow shop on CPR was the victim of armed

> robbery, as was the owner of the (now closed down

> and converted to a house) newsagent on Goodrich,

> between CPR and Barry Road, both within the last

> 18 months.

>

eek, that's a bit too close to where I live for comfort!

[carolyn]

we were unable to afford buying in East Dulwich a couple years ago so went across the park to Nunhead (south end of the cemetary) and have been really happy there. yes it is quiet (except for when my neighbours play loud reggae music, boo), but it is just a short walk to East Dulwich, Peckham and Nunhead Lane. The 484 takes me just round the corner from the Gowlett if I'm feeling lazy. I actually prefer it to the flats we rented in SE22, except of course, when something breaks and I can't just call the landlord to come fix it but have to do something about it myself.

[jimbo1964]

ED: It's like a jungle sometimes, makes me wonder how I keep from going under.

I wouldn't rush to buy anywhere at the moment.

[Keef]

There was a group of teenaged girls mugging loads of kids in East Dulwich last year.

SAY NO MORE!!!!

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Went to Peckham-Morleys,near Queens Road last week once I finally got there after letting the Police Cars go racing by.

I avoided eye contact with the growing teenage mob on the nearby corner so that wasn't a problem and even when they all took off and rushed by me,as one, that wasn't an issue either. So I spoke to the Guy behind the Iron Grills in Morleys to give my order and he confirmed that no attempted robbery had taken place there for a couple of weeks.

I refused to acknowledge the Girl, originally outside, who wanted some change until she saw me produce a ?5 note and then upped her request.I chose to wait the five minutes in my car rather than stay in the shop and collected my stuff and orf I jolly well went,so need to worry......say no more...

p.s.Don't worry about these shootings/armed robberies we had one in my area 22 years ago so it can happen anywhere.

[Keef]

Didn't Harold Shipman live somewhere leafy?

[Tony.London Suburbs]

Keef Wrote:

Didn't Harold Shipman live somewhere leafy?

Nah! Well probably not He lived in a Road,as you know,only "Avenues" are leafy,by definition.

Actually being momentarily serious our local Bank did get robbed a few years ago by 3 Guys it turns out when caught and prosecuted that all three were from Peckham...:)