Mapperly park safe ?

[clairehills]

Hi - We are looking to move to Mapperly park area but am concerned as to the overall safety in this area having just read an article on a body having ben found in the Magdala road area. Our other option is West B but we feel we get more for our money in MP. Can anyone who knows the area advise of how safe it is, levels of crime, do you feel happy to walk round at night ? Thanks.

Hi Claire,

I don't the story of this body but deaths and even murder usually arise out of such specific circumstances that they can't really be extrapolated from. More generally, I lived in MP some years ago and found it very safe and quiet indeed.

The one word of warning would be about what was then Nottingham's red light district (may well be still I just don't know), occupying the Forest Road East and Mapperley Road area at the south of the neighbourhood. An estate agent who showed me a flat there was up-front about it, I suppose they didn't want anyone feeling misled and upset. With prostitution I always think it's the associated trades and hangers-on that are the cause for concern for residents - drug dealers, their other clients etc. I don't know how prevalent any of that is these days though - maybe someone better informed will come along.

Also, one side of MP adjoins St Ann's, which will have a higher than average crime rate, so may make the wider area look as though it has a higher rate than it does, unless figures are very precisely linked to location.

That all sounds a bit grim but really, most of the neighbourhood is really quiet and lovely!

This has got me musing a bit though about what sort of crime really 'matters' as a resident of a neighbourhood.

There are always 'exceptional instances' which to me, feel quite separate from how safe I perceive myself to be. For example, within five years of moving to WB, there were three quite serious instances of crime very near to me (a little surprising, having moved from a much more downmarket neighbourhood where burglary was endemic but nothing so serious happened so close, as far as I knew anyway) - but I perceived them as having nothing to do with me and putting me at no greater risk. Whereas less serious but persistent burglary rates, street crime or even anti-social behaviour would be much more concerning to me.

Thanks Silenenutans thats really helpful and you are right in everything you say. Out of MP and WB which do you rate as the safest from your own personal experience ? Where we live now is incredibly leafy and quiet and so its quite dauting moving to a suburb, especially one which has been linked to relatively high crime levels in the past...

Simple answer is I feel very safe in both and in both it's probably about choosing the right area / street for you.

They are quite different in terms of size, MP is a neighbourhood, WB a town really. As a result MP is much more subject to 'edge effects' whereas WB has a bit more variation internally.

I moved to MP from a rural area and was very pleased to hear tawny owls hooting at night! It really was very quiet and felt a bit like a big leafy island. I'd think it's a question of choosing the right streets - which probably comes down to spending some time walking about at different times of day and night to get a feel for it.

I'm more sensitive to low level anti-social behaviour since having a child. One thing I love about WB is that the parks are really well maintained (partly by the youth offenders team in fact!) and well used, so that anything untoward would be noticed and dealt with very quickly. I often see police and PCSOs walking about. They've knocked on our door a few times because of local burglaries, some car aerials being snapped once (so crimes do happen) so the area feels very well policed.

Much though I appreciate this I do find myself wondering why there weren't so many police visible in my former neighbourhood (not MP), where they would have had a lot more to do and where I never felt this sense of reassurance and keenness on communication with the community - though I wasn't at home during the day there.

Anyway, maybe someone who lives in MP now can give better advice?

We are in the process of buying a house in MP. Of the 5 houses we looked at, 3 of the houses had been occupied by the vendors for +30 years. I had the same reservations as you, but for me it came down to the fact that if these people have lived there that long, and raised families there, they wouldn't have stayed if it was dangerous.

In the process of buying a property, I walked & drove around MP a lot, each time it felt very quiet to me. I actually feel WB is far busier. Just way more traffic, and will get busier with the new houses, school, Waitrose they are building on Sharphill Wood.

I agree that closer to Woodborough Rd is probably more sketchy due to it's proximity to St Anns.

Apparently the demographic of MP is really turning over. Lots of younger families moving in.

I grew up in WB, while it's certainly nice. I actively chose MP over WB.

Guess it depends if you are considering schools.