Hampton Wick - Broom Park, help please

[ilsebet]

Looking to move to HW and have seen a couple of houses in this development and I am really not sure about the garden set-up. The houses have very small patio gardens with a gate that leads to a big communal green space and the river beyond. Hoping that someone could perhaps tell me how this works with kids' safety in mind, obviously keep the gate locked but I think I'd still feel nervous with the river so close and does the communal space make up for the lack of garden? DS1 is 3.5 and DS2 is 1.5. I also noticed that there were no toys in the neighbouring gardens so no kids there, and nobody playing outside, on holiday? Not a lot of houses to choose from near the school either and we haven't seen anything else that we can afford so just trying to convince myself. DH likes it.

Well, we recently moved away from that side of the river for exactly the same worries you have. Have you visited the area? The fence to the river is a really thin wire and I never felt able to relax and let my two run around. We always ended up going to the park instead of using the outdoor space which kind of defeated the purpose of having the garden in the first place. We're now over on the Teddington side and love it there. We have a small garden but at least I know if they were to escape, I don't have to worry about it.

We never saw many younger kids running around the development, not sure if its for the same reason. Depends how much of a worrier you are and how big an outdoor space you need. If you're thinking about getting into the school, the catchment goes out to around 1km which gives you more options.

Were you in Broom Close rather than Broom Park, fireladysamantha? There isn't a fence to the river at all, let alone a thin wire one in Broom Park! If so, Broom Close properties have no fenced outside space whatsoever. I can imagine that would be difficult with young children.

Anyway, there are quite a number of young families in Broom Park. The children do play out in the communal gardens a lot too, so you must have visited on a quiet day. Most of the families tend to be in the houses that don't back directly on to the gardens. These properties have larger private gardens so probably more desirable for those with young children. There is quite a mix of residents on the development. There are still many that have never moved since it was built and there are families with older children as Teddington School is also on the doorstep.

As far as safety is concerned, you definitely aren't going to be letting a 1 1/2 year old run around in the communal gardens unsupervised. But the river isn't really any more of a worry than the road. Most young children tend to play in the area surrounded by the houses and it isn't particularly difficult to set boundaries for them once they are old enough to understand. If you are worried about a houdini child escaping through a locked gate, then surely they might try to escape through the front door anywhere you live?

hi clutterbuggie, yes we were in Broom Close! I presumed the wire along the river ran along Broom Park as well since its just next door. So there's no fence at all in Broom Park?

My DS at the time we lived there was a houdini, and he was fast! I just got fed up of always supervising and never being able to just open up the back door and let them run around while I got on with a few bits. It was always something I had to think about. I also never liked the idea of grandparents babysitting and not being as vigilant or as fast as me so we didn't take them up on their offers as much. I just worried about it when we were out. Looks like I'm a bit of a worrier then! It all depends on what the DCs are like of course, but mine couldn't be trusted.

Thank you very much for responding, OMW, I have not been thinking about anything else for days! There is no fence along the river and my 2 can definitely not be trusted. I will never be able to sit out there with them on my own because they are runners, and never in the same direction! You're right, clutterbuggie, the garden of one of the houses backs onto Broom Road, away from the river, with no direct access to the communal gardens and definitely the better option (apart from really ugly furniture and we'd have to take it furnished, mmm).

We have visited a few times to look around but it's hard to know when you've just got a map to go by. The impression we're getting from agents is that the area around the High St and Collis is sought after, but we have not had a lot to choose from in HW either. We are hoping to get a place at HW Infants and 1km seems huge compared to minute catchments in inner London so good to know.

DS will have to give up his pre-school place and that only adds to the worries. Thanks again ladies, have a lot to think about!

There's no fence at Broom Park as there are moorings all along the river front.

I guess it depends on how long you are planning to stay for. I would say that if you are thinking of it being for more than a couple of years, backing on to the gardens could be fantastic. It's very sociable for both you and the dc. My own dc are older now (I had runners too, so I do appreciate your predicament!). But they suddenly reach an age when you can sit back and relax and then the gardens come into their own. Unless you are in the £1m+ bracket, hardly any houses in Teddington have gardens big enough for kids to properly run around and stretch their legs. In the shorter term, the courtyard is still big enough for some outdoor play stuff and the playgrounds at Broom Road Rec and Langdon Park are only a stone's throw away. How big and nice is the garden of the one backing on to Broom Road and does it make up for grotty furniture?

A lot of the reason for the appeal of the area around the High St is that it's mostly comprised of small houses suitable for families. Down at the Hampton Wick end of town, there are mostly big houses and flats - so there's much less choice in that middle price bracket. I prefer it down this way as it's totally surrounded by green space, but I have friends who think I live in the sticks despite being a 15 minute walk from Kingston town centre!

I don't mind living in the sticks :-) although I have wondered about shopping and just popping out to get bread etc. Some corner shops nearby and then Kingston for supermarket? Do you have to drive to the High St?

We will be renting but would like to settle in and get a feel for the area before we buy so don't want to be moving again soon. Pricey business! The garden of the other house is a little bigger and even has a little lawn which would be a luxury for us.

Not sure how old your kids are, but just wondering what the transition from infants to juniors is like, are the schools very different and why you chose HWI? Thanks again, this has helped so much.

We moved to the area a year ago and did not know anybody.my child started at nursery at HWI and I found the school to be exceptional .really great community and now I feel totally settled here love it .
I walk to the high street you can also get the bus around too.Put your 3.5 on waiting list for nursery as soon as you get an address .
Also home to school distance for all schools in the area are shrinking every year so you need to be as close as you can to your preferred school.

If you want to pop out for a loaf of bread etc, then there is a small parade of shops on the Kingston Road. It's about a 10 minute walk away. Hampton Wick is a similar distance if you want a Post Office. Teddington is a short drive, but parking is always easy. However, I do tend to go to Kingston much more frequently as it's walking distance and has considerably better shops!

I'll second Teddyking1 that HWI is an exceptional school. St John's for juniors is lovely but the head has a very different and more relaxed style - so it can be a bit of a culture shock for the parents. (Not the children, they seem to love both schools!)

As an area, you can't really go wrong. One really nice thing is that having two playgrounds nearby means that there are always loads of kids from HWI going to them after school if it's dry. They're a great place to get to know other mums.

Hello, we are thinking of buying a house on Glamorgan rd in Hampton Wick, is it a nice area? We are currently in fulham but want more green space for our v active 1 yr old boy who is only going to get more active! I don't know the area at all, but it looks nice. He loves the playground and we go most days, is there one nearby?

Thanks!

Kings field and bushy park (deers and everything great playground with sandpit) very close
Langdon park and broom road playgrounds in other direction also 5 mins away
Also 2 more playgrounds in Teddington itself
No shortage of playgrounds around here

Brilliant thanks. Putting an offer in today so fingers crossed!