What’s Thornton Heath like?

[KazzaNige]

We're currently in the process of buying our first home in Thornton Heath after renting in Streatham for 8 years.

I believe Croydon Council is bankrupt but has apparently secured the Westfield development as of the last week despite it being in the works for like 10 years or something.

As for Thornton Heath itself, I have seen a regeneration plan however it wasn't going to be funded by the Croydon Council, so I wasn’t sure if anything has actually been happening. It was published in 2021, does anyone know if much has happened in that time? Has there been any investment in the area?

I appreciate it's still a bit rough and ready looking, but so was Streatham when I first moved there. I know these things take time, especially when the country's close to recession. We have some friend’s that have moved to the area though a little more in either the Crystal Palace side or Selhurst side.

We’re more concerned about whether it’s safe & if there’s a sense of community. We’re dog owners & planning for a family so all of these things matter. We really liked the look of our street & the house we’re buying. The seller had lived in the area for 25 years & raised a family & said good things but it would be good to get a non biased view of someone with lived experience in the area.

Anyway, looking forward to moving to the area & if anyone also has tips on nice places for dog walks or places to eat etc. do let us know.

I wouldn’t rely on it being ‘gentrified’ …. there’s been talk of that for years and I can’t see it happening.

Can you move out a bit further?

How about Penge or Anerley? You won't get as much for your money but they are generally quite a bit nicer , closer to Crystal Palace park and Triangle plus in Bromley Borough. Good community feel and the primary schools are good. You could also look at Elmers End.

If you want Croydon then I’d go South Norwood as it’s got great transport.
Have you looked at Penge/Clock House? Anerley I don’t think has great transport but depends where you need to commute to.
Elmers End is a bit more suburban.

Same! I grew up in Norbury, went to primary school in TH. Left to go to Uni in the early 90s and have never returned. (Agree with the sticking pins in eyes comment...).

Cheap is the only useful thing going for it.

Walk about TH on your own in the dark and see how you feel about it.

What's your budget OP and where do you need to commute to? There's much nicer areas than TH.

I'd say Anerley is really well connected. Crystal Palace station is in Anerley and has trains to London bridge, Victoria and the overground plus there are also Anerley and Penge West stations which are on the overground. Penge also has Penge East which goes to Victoria. Elmers end has trains to London Bridge, Charing Cross plus the tram for more local service. South Norwood is also well connected and is definitely getting nicer but still feels a bit grotty and the primary schools aren't as good except for Cypress. Having said that South Norwood is much nicer than Thornton Heath.

Thanks everyone for your thoughts. I appreciate the varied opinions. We’d been looking for a couple of months across Norbury, Mitcham, Norwood & TH & none of the properties we’ve seen come anywhere near the 3 bedroom house we’re buying in TH for £460k. We really do think we’ve lucked out in terms of property. There wasn’t a great deal available in South Norwood that ticked our boxes & fit our budget & everywhere is miles from a train station. Also there’s at least 25-30k difference in similar properties because we’ve not see anywhere as big as this one that’s not a fixer upper. Because house prices are falling, I think there aren’t as many available, sellers aren’t prepared to take the hit unless they have to.

I’m a nurse at Kings in Camberwell & cycle to work so somewhere easily commutable on my electric bike was a must. Husband works from home so needs space & won’t be worrying about buses etc.

I guess you have to take the rough with the smooth in some cases. Whilst viewing houses in TH there were other young couples viewing with us & some of our friends moved to the area last year. That leads us to think a younger demographic are moving in slowly. They’ve not had any trouble & the only concerns really are the run down look of the place & lack of nice shops, restaurants etc. They go to CP or Norwood Jn for anything lacking in TH. As this will be our first home, who knows how long we’d be there.

Thanks for the advice, there’ll be a couple of months before closing so we’re going to get a better feel of the place between now & then.

What part of Streatham were you in? It's never been as rough as TH & used to be very upmarket. Hence the nice houses & it was home to the first Waitrose. I personally would not want to live in TH & can't see the area gentrifying much particularly now wfh is more viable. Norbury had some nice roads.

Ghetto

But something akin to Streatham which really isn’t gentrified at all would be nice.

A friend bought a 1.8m house there recently, it's been gentrified for years in certain parts!

Honestly as someone who grew up near by I would avoid TH!

That Westfield ain't happening

True dat!

Look at Norwood or better yet avoid Croydon borough & look at Sutton which is one of the safest boroughs.

gang violence tends to be between gangs so as long as you and your DC steer clear of tha

It's really normal for school kids to be targeted for mugging.

If the only area you can buy that sort of house for is TH I think that tells you all you need to know to be honest.

£460k for a 3-bed house in Thornton Heath! Bloody hell I had realised things had gone that mental. 30 years ago you couldn’t give them away round there.

It's not good, never had been. My cousin lives there and you would not want him as your neighbour!!!

Crystal Palace/Upper Norwood is far nicer but still loads of crime compared to when I lived there

I don't understand why anyone wants to willingly live in these area, I grew up there and left asap.

If you are a nurse and your husband works from home, move out west where I live now, you can work anywhere. My neighbours 4 bed town house 5 mins from the beach is on for less right now (and we would love friendly neighbours )

Different people have different experiences of places I guess. I grew up somewhere very rough and would never choose to live there but plenty do and do well on it. OP sounds like she has her head screwed on and this is the best house for her money so it makes sense for her. Not everyone can start in CP, that's why it's a property ladder and in a few years with a bit of luck she could move on up the hill.

Hiya! Did you buy in TH in the end?
My partner and I moved to Thornton Heath just before the first lockdown. So grateful to have been able to afford a place with a garden… and we couldn’t wish for better neighbours. We’re in the north bit, so transport links aren’t ideal (the station is 15 min walk… but so is the walk to Crystal Palace).

Poor Thornton Heath getting all this negative press! About time we heard some good points:

There’s a community app that lists all sorts of local events & offers. It’s got loads of cool features & even has an Art Trail that gives you a tour of all the local street art. The app is called We Are Thornton Heath & is free to download.

Sustainable Thornton Heath & the Thornton Heath Community Action Team both do awesome stuff in the area… tackling fly-tipping & graffiti, organising the annual Thornton Heath In Bloom competition, murals, mosaics, the book exchange in the station: thorntonheath.net

There’s also a big Festive Fair that celebrates local makers, small businesses and community groups. Lots of singing, tasty cakes & an awesome jerk BBQ: thorntonheathfair.com

Hmmm, what else…
An annual carnival takes over the High Street in September, but if green space is more your bag, there’s also the massive Picnic in the Park event up in Grangewood Park. The park has a fantastic new playground btw.

Trumble Gardens (opposite the Library) has had a recent refurb too. It’s looking good! Friends of Trumble Gardens organised Desmond Dekker Day celebrations in the summer. Live music, jerk BBQ, cakes, community mural painting & lots of dancing. His daughter Desrene sang ~ they lived in TH. 😀 The tennis courts & playground are in the process of being refurbished.

As a cat sitter, I walk alone at night pretty much every day. 🙀 Antisocial behaviour is a thing in certain areas, but community groups are working with police & Council to tackle it. For one thing, the PSCO is being reintroduced. The Safer Neighbourhood Team make an effort to get to know people in the area. And although there definitely are gangs, I’ve not had any interactions/issues. Touch wood!

Deffo wish we had more pubs & places to eat, but with a bit of effort, they will come! Yahso is really good ~ their Caribbean veggie burger is seriously tasty… as are their pina coladas! They’ve actually opened up a new place opposite the station. Haven’t tried it yet though.

Thornton Heath has constant flow of positive stuff happening… even with a bust Council. Speaking of which, don’t forget we’re Borough of Culture this year. Lots of stuff going on for that.

More and more people are moving here as it is still one of the more affordable areas. I’m really happy we did. x

@Tilpot 53 years ago I fled TH to University in NE England. Family still there, I'm still up here. Over the years, I have come to realise what a great place it is, in its own way. Afro-Carribbean influx (Windrush to Brixton to TH) have revitalised the High St, and Crossrail means it's easier to get to where you want to go in North and NE London. Don't tell anyone about it though - we don't want none of that gentrification stuff, it would just spoil it

Hi guys! Reading through these as also considering buying in Thornton Heath. Plan is to buy a house maybe live there for a few years whilst toddler is youngish then sell up and move away from london.
I live in Tulse hill but looking to move further south so we can have a garden and bigger space.
I've heard south Norwood is worse than Thornton Heath.?

and what about Norbury? Is it better than TH?

OP what did you do in the end? Did you find somewhere 😃

Damn! Just realised I meant Thameslink, not Crossrail, in my last post

I can't advise you, @Maymay79, but just wanted to say that for a few years I had to change trains at Tulse Hill station on my way to and from school. As this was in the 60s, I was sometimes to be heard singing, on the day before term started: "I was only 24 hours from Tulse Hill..."