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Original poster

Living in Berrylands, surbiton

22 replies

Laurakirsty79 · 06/02/2017 17:13

Hi
I just wondered if anyone could advise on living in the area of Berrylands in Surbiton? We have seen a house on surbiton hill park and it's gorgeous with a massive south facing garden. I've tried to google general thoughts on the area and have come up with stuff from 2011 where some people say it's called 'smellylands' due to the sewage works and it's very stinky in the summer and others say it's fine and you don't really notice it.
Can anyone shed some more light on this issue?
Many thanks!

OP posts:
HarderToKidnap · 06/02/2017 17:50

Hi there.... I live in BErrylands, and also work round here so know it really well. I absolutely love living here..... but to answer your specific question, yes the sewage works can absolutely stink at times. There are roads I wouldn't live on because of the smell.... at the other end of BErrylands you have to be careful about the noise of the Athree. This keyboard won't let me type the number three! Sorry.

In terms of Surbiton hill park, the end nearest the works does often smell. If the house you are looking at is the Jones built five bed detached, then I would say that is far enough down to be absolutely fine. I've never noticed it past the maisonettes at the top of the road. ANything the Surbiton end past the junction with The Ridge is fine (IMO),

Let me know if I can be of any more help x

Semiski · 06/02/2017 18:11

I used to visit a friend in Berrylands when we both had toddlers. It took me a while on the first visit to twig that my friends toddler hadn't got a dirty nappy that needed to be changed. The smell was coming from the sewage works, not my friends toddler.

I think you get used to the smell as my friend couldn't smell it. But yes anecdotally it's known as Smellylands if you're near the sewage works.

Original poster
Laurakirsty79 · 06/02/2017 21:01

Thank you so much for your comments. The house we are looking at is between The Royston's and Chiltern Drive, so just before the roundabout with the pub on it. I guess that is going to be a smelly area.☹️
Maybe we just need to keep an eye out for other houses that come on the market that are set further back and more in the middle part.
Out of interest HarderToKidnap, as a local, what is the pub like and Green Lane recreation ground? I have a one year old and the schools all seem good, but we haven't explored the park yet.
Many thanks again for your comments.

OP posts:
HarderToKidnap · 06/02/2017 23:10

Yes I'm afraid it will really smell there. It's not every day though, just occasionally.... generally when it's hot, but it STANK late last week for some reason. Lots of people do live with it.

The Berry is very old fashioned, definitely no gastropub! But really friendly, decent food, a proper local. Not rough at all, no trouble.

Green Lane is fine, it's a big field with a quite nice playpark in the middle. The trains go right next to the play park which the kids love. No problems there.

Alexandra Park is walkable from most of BErrylands and also has a nice play area. Best in Surbiton though is Victoria Park which is a short drive. Had a lovely cafe in the middle owned by the same people who own the French Table and a massive play area and sandpit.

SachinR · 07/12/2017 22:23

Hi, I am looking at some properties near Greenfield Avenue. Please can you guys suggest whether this area also suffers with this smell issue or not?

notagain01 · 11/01/2018 16:19

i grew up in Berrylands (i now have grey hair!). Don't remember the smell being that noticeable in Pembroke avenue. May be it's got worse....

Cshamilton · 21/01/2018 08:06

Hello! Know this is an old post but just wondered if you moved to Berrylands in the end? Any tips/recommendations would be great, we are looking to move from SW London to be able to buy family home and most we like/in budget are coming up in surbiton or berrylands and just don't know the area at all!
Thanks for any advice!
CSH x

GD1982 · 30/01/2018 10:10

Hi. We moved to Berrylands about 12 months ago (from central SW London). Reading this thread is interesting but my thoughts:

  1. Lots of people above talk about the smell. We are about 8 minutes walk to the station. The smell is noticeable at the station for most of the summer but we only smelt it at our house on one day in the last 12 months. Basically it relies on a fairly rare combination of temperature, wind direction and whatever they're doing at the plant for you to notice the smell unless you're right next to the station.

  2. We love the area. Having lived in central for a number of years it feels quiet, safe and has a nice family vibe. Great place for children and being near to Kingston is really handy for shopping etc. You're not far from the A3 either which is handy for getting out and about or onto to the M25. My partner travels a lot with work and so being close to Heathrow or Gatwick was also very handy. It is only zone 5 so you still feel like you are in London but at the same time feel out of London!

  3. I've found the trains to be fairly good plus the K2 bus route makes getting down to Surbiton / Tolworth very quick if you need to. When the trains haven't worked, it is fairly convenient for a drive to Wimbledon or Morden to get the tube. At the moment the only downsides are 1) they're only every half hour 2) Berrylands station is difficult with prams on your own.

  4. My biggest gripe with Berrylands is the lack of shops etc. A small sainsburys / waitrose etc would make a huge difference in terms of convenience. There is a great local greengrocers but that is about it. I understand Sainsburys had tried to get planning on a building near Alexandra Drive but local businesses had objected. A shame really. That said, you are only a hop to the Sainsburys on Ewell Road or down to Tolworth / Surbiton if you really need to.

So in all, i'd defintiely recommend it, especially if you are planning a family.

Timeforbed208 · 29/08/2018 22:58

Thames Water have rebuilt the treatment works, not just a facelift but a new works. Millions of pounds have been spent and now you will be very unlucky to smell the works. The prevailing wind is from Berrylands to the treatment works so that's even better news. Berrylands is a safe, well schooled area very close to Kingston ( K2 bus ) every 10 mins and onto Kingston Hospital . Surbiton is a short walk, less then 15mins, with a good selection of shops, train station, and bars/restaurants. Berrylands is easy for London either by train, car and great for airports with very little air traffic noise. Have lived and enjoyed Berrylands for years.

Mary167 · 29/02/2020 15:05

Hello! Thanks for sharing your experience !
Know this is an old post but do you know if the odor situation has improved ? I red that some improvements works have been done to improve the facilities.
We are looking to buy flat in Villiars close
Do you know how many times per month/year the smell is noticable?

Shoga07 · 13/04/2020 09:52

Hello Mary, did you move to Berrylands? We are thinking of moving to the area too.

Shoga07 · 13/04/2020 09:54

Hello, do you still live in Berrylands, my daughter goes goes to SHS and we are thinking of moving to the area.

RunJHC · 16/05/2020 21:36

Hi we live in Berrylands near the station backing on to the nature reserve. Have never had a problem with the smell and it's a fantastic place to live so can highly recommend it!

Imane1991 · 27/07/2020 14:08

Hello all,

We are currently viewing houses in berrylands and wondering if anyone could give us a feedback on the areas of Hill Crescent (North of the train line) / Pembroke road (South of the train line) - Is it smelly over there?
Thank you very much

Arnemamma · 29/03/2021 18:36

Hi @Imane1991 and @Shoga07 and @SachinR Did any of you move to Berrylands in the end? We are thinking of a move to a beautiful house we have seen there. Any feedback greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Shoga07 · 29/03/2021 21:44

Hello, yes we moved here in October 2020 so far so good. It hasn't been smelly yet Smile. People generally seem to be friendly and polite

AAD88 · 12/04/2021 20:00

Hi @RunJHC, please can I ask if you live anywhere near Rose Walk? We’re in the process of buying a house on that road and totally didn’t even think about the possible smell and now are a bit worried! Thanks so much in advance

NetflixParents · 20/10/2021 12:23

Hello all! Bringing this back up - (1) does it still smell? (2) does the smell reach Pine Walk? Or is that far enough. Thanks!

marryAd · 07/11/2023 09:43

Hi @AAD88 we also liked a house in Rose Walk. So was wondering if you moved there, are you happy with the area?

MVilla74 · 23/02/2024 10:21

Hey all. Wondering if any of you ended up moving to Berrylands? Looking at a house on the south end of The Roystons and wondered if the smell would causes us issues? I see a lot of conflicting information about it online, have things improved in the area since the sewage rebuild a few years ago? Thanks!

Shoga07 · 24/02/2024 08:51

Since we moved to the area in 2020 (Surbiton Hill Park) there was only an issue last year and that was due to a fault at the sewage plant. Other than that I cannot say there is a bad smell in the area.

GoldRoseCat · 22/02/2026 10:25

We were also worried about this before we moved to the area but we’ve lived on Lower Marsh Lane for about 5 years now and we’ve only ever smelt it on one occasion where they were having issues with their equipment. Even then it wasn’t too bad. We love living here because it’s so close to Kingston and Surbiton, but also close to Berrylands station

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