Can anyone tell me about Catford?

[allovertheworld]

We're moving out of our slightly too small flat on zone 1/2 borders and looking for a house, ideally with a garden, somewhere in S/SE London. Streatham, Forest Hill and Brockley have been front runners so far, but someone on here mentioned Catford as an up and coming place on a MN thread recently and it got me thinking. We have fmaily in Peckham, friends all round that part of London and we can get the space we want for well within our budget.

But is it really on the up? I don't really know much about it so any advice welcome- nice bits; bits to avoid; well-regarded local schools (looks like there are lots of "good"schools, but are some better liked than others?). Would it be a nice place to live with two young kids?

Hi depends what part of catford, as most areas some parts a lot better than others, some nice roads off the bromley road,, bellingham/downham can be very hit or miss, roads off standstead road going towards forest hill is good, dont know great deal about schools(long time since my dc's at school) traffic can be awful & shopping is a bit meh.
Think it depends on budget, would research carefully, good luck.

Know Catford and south east London quite well from growing up (I grew up in Sydenham and I miss it!) and it was not really very nice at al though I'm sure things are changing and on the up....

I also can't imagine schools to be very good either... From what I remember in London the best schools were either church based or private...

There were a few exceptions.... Haberdasher Askes and Langley park were good (this is 10-15 years ago) both my brothers attended these and they are both in South London but in my time I remember them being difficult to get into...

Kilmorie Primary is very sought after - great little school-and if you have girls Sydenham Girls is excellent...not sure if you can get into Hilly Fields for boys?

London schools have improved no end since our childhoods, Idoc!

I have just moved from Peckham to Lewisham for the girls school on Hilly Fields and I LOVE the area. Obviously Catford is further south and has fewer transport options but from my search last year around SE London has shown that the more SE areas of zone 2-3 are the probably the best value you will get for houses in that zone in London period. Hither Green is lovely, street upon street of Victorian houses, good primary schools, although secondary is likely to be Forst Hill boys and poss Sydenham Girls. Catchment for Haberdashers is a few meters and effectively closed now to non Free School pupils. Hilly Fields catchment is tiny.

There is St Dunstans day school in Catford if you have money saved over!

Nearer to Lewisham benefits from DLR (great transport now Overground has taken some of the excess) and access to Greenwich, Deptford (nice pool and library and Vietnamese grocery shops) and Blackheath.

Its certainly grottier is some ways and the only beards you see round here have been worn by men since the dawn of time. This contrasts with Peckham which is now awash with men with WC Grace beards and plaid shirts clutching lattes.

When you say up and coming what exactly do you mean?

Ds is a student in London and lived in Canada Water last year. It was lovely, very community focussed from what we could tell.

We have just moved from Streatham Hill to Hither Green with a young family and so can give you some incite into the reasons. We initially looked at buying on the Corbett Estate in Catford, but were lucky enough to find a house in our preferred area of Hither Green.
However, I would definitely not be disappointed with being in Catford, it is definitely changing for the better. Lots of great housing stock and the development of the centre will happen at some point.
You are also close to loads of green space and the primary schools are fantastic in the area.
We would however, not have had an issue with staying in Streatham, we were simply priced out of the houses. So much to do with kids and great transport links.

Hither Green has good schools, great parks and a really nice community feel. Been here for four years and we love it.

Hi I cycle through Catford everyday on the way to work. I live in SE9.
It's like most suburbs around London, its abit rough and ready but there are fantastic residential clusters and great parks. I live in SE9.
If you need an architect with your new property please feel free to get in touch.

I live very close to Catford and visit there a lot as have a good friend who works there. I like it, it is definitely on the "up" and prices are not as silly as Forest Hill etc. yet. We have friends with children who currently rent in Forest Hill and who are buying there before prices climb.

Most schools are very good, certainly primaries (you're unlikely to get into Kilmorie if you live in Catford, its catchment has shrunk massively since taking bulge classes). I don't think there are any to avoid, as such.

If you see a house/flat you like I'd visit it in the morning and evening to see what the immediate area and the neighbours are like. I would stay around the centre, or Forest Hill, Lewisham, or Hither Green sides - I agree Bellingham and Downham are not so nice and might be a bit trickier.

There are some nice green spaces (Blythe Hill Fields in particular is gorgeous, with amazing views), a good theatre which often has kids' stuff on, a (still open!) library, shops, and more grown up places to go of an evening.

Some of it is a little rough around the edges/shabby, but it is earmarked for a lot of regeneration in coming years, so I would say go for it now. Good luck!

Hi OP. There was an article on Catford in Time Out online last week.