Peckham Rye - how dodgy is it?

[chantelle]

Hi, i'm considering moving to Peckham Rye, to the mythical Bellenden Road. I thought the area seemed nice enough, while also doing my homework about how it may be sliding a bit backward since the regeneration, etc.

well i took hubby to see the house (for rent, not buying in this market!) and within minutes by the station saw a couple drug deals apparently going down, plus a guy smoking heroin in a phone booth.

I've lived in other parts of South London for the better part of 7 years so I'm no prude but this still raised alarm bells for me.

does anyone know anything about crime levels and things like burglaries in the area? we'd love to move to E. Dulwich proper but need the rail link to Blackfriars.

kindest thanks. C.

[LuvPeckham]

As always there are good roads and bad roads in every area and also good parts of roads and bad parts.

Personally I would say that you seemed to experience all the bad parts on one day... but it is still worth going back and looking again at different times of day (and evening) to see if it was just unlucky.

I would say, that if your main concerning is the rail link to Blackfriars then it is easy to also live in East Dulwich near the Number 12 bus route, Number 37, Number 197, 63 and 363 and still be at Peckham Rye station in a matter of minutes so don't limit your search based on just how close you are to Peckham Rye Station.

Peckham is one of those areas that is organically regenerating and I would expect in a few years time that things will look a whole lot different from today. (much like how Lordship lane reinvented itself a few years ago)

[Muttley]

You can also get to Blackfriars from Denmark Hill, and it's only a ten minute walk to DH from roads around East Dulwich station.

[chantelle]

thanks for your feedback. we are looking at DH too.

problem with e. dulwich is at the moment we live spitting distance to the tube and love that, so we are trying to be within 5 min. of a station that will bring us directly to work. not to be lazy but hubby also has a 15 min walk on the other end so doesn't want to double his current commute.

[Spangles30]

"mythical Bellenden Road"? LOL. What exactly do you mean by 'mythical'?

I would say it is a good area to live in if you are wooed by the Dog Clipping & Grooming service there. Also it is that bit nearer to Lidl and Poundstretcher, which get the thumbs up from me. Got some fab crockery from the latter recently, and saw similar for ten times the price in two Lordship Lane shops.

[CF]

bellenden road is lovely - i have lived in peckham for 10 years, oglander road for 3 years and now just round the corner from there for the past 7. Bellenden has a really nice bohemian feel to it, there is a lovely community spirit and feels like a little villiage with lots of lovely little shops, nice bars and restaurants. the regenaration has helped the area and it is only going to get better.

peckham rye station isnt that desirable i agree but as soon as you turn right out of the station you enter a different nicer peckham. as previous person said you probably just had an unfortunate day of bumping into dodgy people just like you would anywhere else in london on a bad day.

move here its great!!

[chantelle]

Spangles - sorry but after reading numerous descriptions of flats, talking to estate agents, etc. - they present Bellenden Road as some kind of s london nirvana!

thanks CF for your reassuring words. these incidents were just to the left of the station. :)

[Spangles30]

Oh PURLEASE CF. There is no way Bellenden Rd could be described as 'bohemian'!!!!! And it feels nothing like a 'little village'. I find such twee chitter chatter so excrutiatingly awful.

Chantelle, you are right, the esate agents etc do try and present Bellenden Rd as some kind of utopia. Hardly. I would not feel comfortable walking on around the station area of Peckham Rye. Also I have had two hair raising incidents whilst coming down from the car park to the cinema there.

[kristymac1]

I'd hardly consider CF's endorsement of the Bellenden area 'twee chitter chatter', after all CF does live there and surely his/her opinion is very relevant to this thread. Let's be honest in most (if not all) areas of London you can go from the sublime to the cor-blimey by simply turning a corner and so whilst it's definitely not good to have experienced the drug deals/taking in such close proximity to where you want to live, this type of behaviour doesn't necessarily define the area as a whole.

I haven't had a great deal of experience of the Bellenden area in the evening, but during the day I find it very pleasant and totally non-threatening.

Best of luck Chantelle, where-ever you reside..... x

[seanmlow]

Bellenden is a great area.

(for rent, not buying in this market!) - such a funny comment - do you not realise that rentals are through the roof and you will be paying over the odds? Such dead money!

[CF]

spangles - you obvously dont know the area very well so i will forgive you for your comment 'twee chitter chatter' due to your ignorance.

i would say rye lane is scary but i just avoid it.

good luck with moving to the area chantelle

[Spangles30]

KristyMac, deeming Bellenden Rd 'bohemian' and 'like a little village' is in my book 'twee chitter chatter'. Do you understand the connotations of 'bohemian'??!! Have you ever been to a little village? if so, you will agree Bellenden is NOT like one.

Seanmlow, surely it IS the right time to buy in the current climate. Prices are quite a lot lower than in the past. is this what you mean?

[macroban]

Rentals are going through the roof in Bellenden Village?

[CF]

spangles - everyone is allowed there own opinion and it seems as usual you are loving to disagree.

Chantelle - bellenden is a lovely area of peckham, go in any of the shops or cafes down there and you will get a good feel for the area so you can make up your own opinions

[HonaloochieB]

Frankly ED is as near to Peckham as I want to live. I like to visit during daylight hours, but I would avoid after dusk unless I really had to, such as on a 12 bus home. Peckham has become the stupid, violent smelly younger brother that Brixton is embarrassed to mention.

Estate agents feel free to quote me.

T'chah.

[chuff]

Chantelle, I think you can get to Blackfriars from West Dulwich or Herne Hill stations too in rush hour. Although it has been a few years since i've travelled from those stations so it might have changed. Both those areas are imho nicer than Peckham. And it is just my opinion so no shouting please!

chuff

[seanmlow]

Spangles - yes, I think it is a good time to buy, not rent. The problem is that so many people are saying 'I will rent for a year to see what happens to the market', that landlords have cottoned on and are charging much higher rentals.

I used to rent a three bed for 1500 last month. Now I am looking at paying 1750!

[okcomputa]

Oh hell, Stop. Say what you mean!

Yes, it stinks and it's pretty dirty, but to say "I would not feel comfortable walking on around the station area of Peckham Rye" is plainly silly. Most of London is not too different - it's neither dangerous or feels so. Just because the folk in Peckham are largely from a different demographic (that is, not white, eat strange food and attend the Church of Hardcore Prayer) just does not make the place scary.

The largely white men (typically dressed in awful, carefully ironed shirts that aren't tucked in) who stand outside the Bishop smoking fags & swilling pints of Stella are far more likely to cause trouble.

[binker]

I live on bellenden road at the station end - have done for 4 years. I really like it. I bought here as i couldn't afford east dulwich which was where i'd been renting for the previous 4 years. I was a little worried when i first moved here as everyone had said they wouldn't want to move to Peckham but my fears were unfounded. I don't think the station is any worse than any other London station at night - i've never felt unsafe - and i've stumbled back after a drink or two many a time! I think you just have to be sensible as anywhere you go in London bad things can happen.

[HonaloochieB]

okcomputa Wrote:

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

> Oh hell, Stop. Say what you mean!

> Yes, it stinks and it's pretty dirty, but to say

> "I would not feel comfortable walking on around

> the station area of Peckham Rye" is plainly silly.

> Most of London is not too different - it's neither

> dangerous or feels so. Just because the folk in

> Peckham are largely from a different demographic

> (that is, not white, eat strange food and attend

> the Church of Hardcore Prayer) just does not make

> the place scary.

>

Most of London Is different to other parts of it. To imply that I, for example think that Peckham is a place to avoid after dark because I might be afraid of people of a different skin colour (to put it crudely), with different eating habits and who attend daft storefront places of worship, is, I think to suggest that you're not too familiar with the SE15 area.

Peckham is what it is, a dirty, dull, crime-ridden Brixton. Except when it's not in certain pubs at certain times.

It will not be the simple good place you appear to want it to be.

Could be worse though, could be Harlesden.

[ladida]

Please, can no person use the phrases 'Bellenden Village' or 'Peckham Village', it is Peckham - SE15. Bellenden Road is lovely, it's quiet, relaxed, no hassle, loveliest book shop, Ganapati etc. For a non E. Dulwich w'end go for it. Live there, you'll make money when you sell, the regeneration will sort it out as soon as Elephant and Castle is done. Does anybody remember E. Dulwich 20 years ago?

[Pandora]

The negative comments above are the usual ones I hear from people who don't live in Peckham. I'll admit, when I was living elsewhere I had the same impression. Then I ended up living here (by Peckham Rye station, Bellenden Road area). All I can go on is my experience - and I'm really happy here. I have good local shops, great local pubs, nice restaurants, two lovely parks, an easy train ride to work and generally I find people pretty friendly round here. I sometimes come home on late trains and feel safe doing so (I'm young and female). I would reckon we do have more anti social/undesirable/call it what you will behaviour round here than in East Dulwich, but like most parts of London, if you don't go looking for it, it doesn't come and find you. There are bits of Peckham I'm not happy walking round, so I don't walk round them.

Don't be put off by people who don't know the area. I like it. Bellenden's not quite a village, but my neighbours talk to me and I know some of the shop keepers, which is good enough for me. Try getting a train into Peckham Rye early evening, have a little wander up to Warwick gardens, then go to Ganapati or Il Giardino for dinner, then have a drink at the Gowlett and the Montpellier and see what you think.

The only thing I don't like is the 12 bus, and that goes to East Dulwich too!

[zephyr]

You can also get to Blackfriars from nunhead which it lovely. best bit is south of Nunhead cemetery.

[taper]

Area west of Peckham Rye station is lovely, all the way through to Camberwell. Some of the housing stock is far better than the rather limited late Victorian stuff you stuff you get in East Dulwich. And you're 10 minutes from LL without having to live near it, with all that entails (bad transport etc).

[Louisa]

Hey why not go for a wander down Rye Lane after dark too? Such a great diverse range of produce and some lovely top quality shops to suits the needs of everyone. Also clean streets, considerate parking attendants, great hassle free transport links and friendly faces at every turn willing to offer advice to a weary lost traveller :-)

Louisa.