East Dulwich, Kennel Hill Estate

[STR11KER]

Can anyone tell me what its like at living in this area, as i'm looking at a house near the Kennel hill estate and as a single woman wondered what it was like on a night etc. walking home from work from the east dilwich station. I would have to pass beside this estate and need a bit of local knowledge and reassurance.Love the idea of being near Lordship lane and the buzz of East Dulwich but would rather look or pay a bit more if it was not safe. Not trying to pre judge the area but local knowledge is a great thing,

thanks in advance:)-D

[Charles]

Hi,

When I moved to Dog Kennel Hill in 2001 i was not sure what to expect. I live at the begining of the Estate next to the School and it is very safe. No anti social behaviour no crime and no vandalism. All services are within walking distance and very good public transport network.

Charles

[tiddles]

hi, have just moved from this area, after a very happy 11 years. I never felt threatened (except once when breaking up a fight at a small shop - but then the offender did actually apologise to me)

I suspect the postcode will be SE15 - do not be put off by this. Its a fab area, alot of community spirit and much closer to rail links than alot of SE22 - you get a bit more for your money and as you say, very close to all thats happening in LL

[ratty]

I'd buy yourself a gun!

Only joking, we are not far away in St Francis Place and apart from being chased by a gang of Youths about 5 years ago (there were ten of them ok) we have had no trouble.

In fact the Youths incident was when we lived on LL!

[ivemet-jimmy]

Hi STR11KER,

Ive lived round there my whole life and Ive never had any trouble. Not only do you have the benefit of living near LL but also near Bellenden too. Which is now a real nice place. :))

[Blondie]

we moved into st francis road 6 months ago, and were slightly concerned, but touch wood no trouble, get groups of youths sometimes but all harmless

[mamafeelgood]

we live there, with se5 postcode.

moving from brixton i was sick and tired of noise polution, dealing, anti social behaviour etc... so i was careful about checking out the estate at different times of day. i was pleased to realise that it's fine and actually rather calm and nice. the kids still play on the street outside their houses in the surrounding victorian terraces (how rare is that these days) and you are in the ideal position of being next to the train station, bellenden road and LL.

the estate is also going to benefit from a major refurb. i highly recommend the area, plus it's not over inflated in price compared to se22 postcodes.

[michaell]

We live on a road right by the estate and had the same initial concerns as you have. Having lived there for nearly a year now, I can say that there is nothing to worry about. After a late night out, my wife feels no different walking up through the estate to our house from East Dulwich station as she would walking up any other road.

[where?]

Ok.. this sounds good -although why are half the flats here boarded up.. the estate looks quite run down?

Would it be safe to walk up Petchley road at 10pm ?

thanks

[snorky]

Its OK- not what you maye xpect

[where?]

i don't know much about it - what's the walk like from peckham rye station.. up avondale road?

[mamafeelgood]

it's all fine (the walks you ask about). the empty flats, according to a local councillor, have just been or are about to be signed off to a housing corp to provide key worker homes. i think they remained boarded up as southwark had to make their mind up: keep or destroy the estate. then the council is refurbing the rest.

i often walk along the railway tracks around the back of the estate and i have encountered no trouble at all in over a year and a half. dog kennel primary school is one of the best and the local community as a whole is a good mix.

also consider that there are now 2 sets of 'luxury' flats on the hill which is surely a reflection that the estate is no problem. however, you can hear the locals moaning about escalating house prices...but judging by this forum it sounds like everyone is complaining!

[ratty]

I would say that it is all pretty safe!

[mockney piers]

Oh snorky, you make me chuckle. A bit of consistency would be nice.

http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5,13813,13955#msg-13955

Personally I take short cuts through there all the time and now Hoopers is fast becoming my local, it's all really a sort of forgotten and hugely underrated area and I've yet to see any trouble, but that doesn't mean there isn't any I guess.

[where?]

This all sounds very good indeed.. perhaps I have been a little over cautious...

thanks for your feedback - its actually good to know people in the community care about it so much!

[snorky]

mockney piers Wrote:

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

> Oh snorky, you make me chuckle. A bit of

> consistency would be nice.

> http://www.eastdulwichforum.co.uk/forum/read.php?5

> ,13813,13955#msg-13955

>

I know , I know,........but its really not too bad, although i would not touch the place meself to live in - one thing about the estate is that although it looks grim from some angles, it is very well built - good sized flats and pretty secure as well.

Unlike many estates in Sarf London, I would suspect you would not have a problem walking through it most nights.

My earlier comments regarding "GV15" or whatever the ex public toilets are called is that I would gag at paying the thick end of half a mill for a boxy flat overlooking a gothic council estate and railway lines.

I even considered buying a 2 bedder in the MuFu estate at one point, as it was cheap and I knew I could get victims to fill it wiothout any hassle, but the only downer was the question of maintainence - the Council were planning big works on the estate and the thought of an unexpected bill dropping on the mat for several thousand quid scared the bejesus out me and put paid to any capitalist desires I may have had.

Its not the place for City Boys with flash cars and sleek girlfriends and the noise can be a bit annoying in the summer, but There is an awful lot worse within a few miles........

[louisiana]

Back in the day when I lived on ED Road (overlooking the Green), the local posties wouldn't go round the DKH estate except in pairs, as they used to get the mail robbed (PO giros I assume). That was in the mid-80s. Has all that changed now?

[spadetownboy]

i like mockney often cut through the estate at all times of day and night and have never had a problem.i actually have two very close friends who have bought properties there and they are extremely spacious 3 bed roomed flats with seperate living room,diner,kitchen and bathroom. i have often stayed over and again there has been no issues ie shootouts at 3am,drum n bass to all hours.just because its an estate dosent mean its like something out of shameless,it is actually occupied by families and professionals who take a pride in where they live and look after it accordingly,and believe it or not its actually a fairly pleasant place to live.

[mamafeelgood]

i think all the kids find it far more fun to hang out at mcdonalds in either camberwell, peckahm or brixton than they do outside sea cow or green and blue...east dulwhich is pretty joyless for the average teenager.

to reply to the question regarding the estate since the 80's: apparently yes it was a lot rougher until the council cleared out the trouble. by the mid 90's (or there about) it became the place we know now. there is an odd block just at the beginning of ivanhoe road end of pytchley which is due for demolition, it's out of character with the rest of the estate and will be replaced with a new block.

[*Bob*]

I can't speak for the inhabitants, but regarding the actual buildings themselves: there are too many blocks which are possibly a storey too high and of course it could do with a fair bit of cosmetic improvement, BUT I have to say I actually quite like the architecture of the DKH estate (gasp!)

Transplant any of those blocks to the more well-to-do parts of London, fix-up the cosmetics and add a concierge and it would be a different story.

I can think of dozens of estates with absolutely no redeeming features, architecturally speaking - but I honestly don't think DKH should be lumped-in with them.

[mamafeelgood]

bob, i totally agree with you. let's see what the refurb achieves ...

[Jeremy]

Yep, the buildings could be quite nice... let's hope they do a good job!