Garden backing onto a park/ recreation ground

[missl1]

We've seen a couple of houses we like but both have gardens backing onto either a park or recreation ground - neither locked at night. On the one hand it's great to back onto open land, but I'm wondering if there are any negatives - potential for anti-social behaviour or theft.
Anyone got any thoughts/ experiences - positive or negative?
Would you?

It really depends on the area. We back onto a park and it's great - makes the house feel really open with no overlooking neighbours (and I get to see all the happy dogs going for their walks). There was one summer when travellers moved in but (apart from breaking down the barriers, driving their cars all over the place and leaving rubbish and worse) they weren't too bad. The council were on it really quickly and they were gone within 10 days.

On the other hand my friend has had to leave a house she loved because it was next to a park where kids would throw stones at their windows and were generally a pain in the arse. So, it could be great, or it could not and it can sometimes be hard to tell.

be careful. Even in normal times, these areas are a magnet for the 'oh, it's only a bit of weed' brigade, and many kids are antisocial vandals because their parents teach them to be.

There's also a risk that the land could be developed as my friend has just discovered. The cricket ground behind her garden has been sold to developers.

It’s a big no from me. The little park near my old house had teenagers in it every night. Rubbish & cig buts everywhere constantly. Burnt the swings recently. 🥴 & I lived in a desirable suburban village. Not a shit hole. Houses prices are high. There was also a large Rec in the village, again, well known for youths drinking & smoking weed etc but generally up by the swings. The houses at the bottom of the huge stretch of grass didn’t really have any issues..

I just couldn’t risk it. But all areas are different. Might be worth a little drive around past the parks at like 8pm & see.. although winter may be different to summer as well..

I've just moved from a house which backed onto a park. I lived there for 12 years and never had any trouble and had some lovely views which I miss. There was lots of wildlife and I always had somewhere to walk around. As long as the houses aren't directly by the play area where teens are likely to hang about at night then they will be fine.

Our house backs onto a large recreation ground in a not particularly desirable bit of London.

It's fab. Quiet and leafy at the back, no traffic, lots of bird life etc. So grateful for it during lock down.

In the years we've lived here, there have been a few attempted break ins but much fewer than in the surrounding streets.

Maybe it depends on the size of the park? Young people do congregate around the skate park etc which is the far side and nowhere near our house.

Our house backs onto a park/open area with paths through so there are always lots of people walking about, dog walks, school run, shops etc.

Majority of the time it’s fine but occasionally there are teenagers out there late at night. I don’t mind the singing and laughter but can’t stand it when they start swearing and throwing bottles! But that is only rare occasions so it’s fine really and lovely to have open green space right outside our door.

Our house backs on to a small park with a nice playground in it and it's great - so nice to be able to open the back gate and have that space at our disposal, especially during lockdown. There's a path running through the park to DS's school, which makes for a pleasant walk each day. During the summer there were some teenagers who'd hang out there and they were problematic - swearing loudly in front of the younger children, damaging play equipment and leaving rubbish etc. We (and several others in the area) reported them to the council and police and the issue seems to have been resolved. We've been here nearly 7 years and that was the first time we've ever had any issues.

I wouldn’t. Some friends of ours live next to their local park, they were out in their garden in the summer and heard “You’ll have to take me from behind, I’m not lying down and getting my arse wet”

Are they the size of park that might be used for travelling fairs, concerts, fetes, firework displays etc? If so find out how often the Council grants licences for such events.

Also, are they regularly used for football training, cricket matches etc. How early do they start, how many people attend etc

Where do people visiting the park leave their cars?

It takes all sorts! We have a mini park next to our London flat. During the day it’s little children and parents. Another group of children after school. There’s one school really close. Then there’s after dark adults and weed. So a big mixture!

Thanks - all good ideas here. I really appreciate it. I hadn't even thought about developers as a possibility. The garden for one place backs onto the tennis court area of a large recreation ground. I did wonder if summer would be irritating racket racket all day long and a garden full of balls so to speak :-)

Its a no chance from me as its too much of a gamble

We looked at a house that backed into a park, it sounded like a nice idea until we realised there was a basketball court right at the end of the garden. After 2 minutes of ‘thunk... thunk... thunk....’ I couldn’t get out fast enough!