Chesham Safe Areas + Flood Areas

[harryw66]

Hi all,
My family is originally from Lancashire, been living in East London for 25 yrs - and getting a bit fedup with the pace of life, noise and pollution.
Now that I only have to go into work(Central London) 1-2 times a week I want to move somewhere much quieter but still within 1hr commute of work.
I have visited Chesham, quite liked it and is at the top of my list.
I did a search of this forum and there was mention of nice and not so nice areas - which have been noted.
However, there were a few comments about drugs - but no mention of which areas of Chesham might be affected by drug related crime...Can someone help advise if there are particular areas to avoid?

Also, in terms of flooding - I note on the Chesham council website that certain flood mitigation policies have been implemented. I have checked the gov.uk flood level lookup website - so have an idea which areas appear to be the high risk. But can someone advise if the recent anti-flood policies have made a difference - are their areas to avoid?
Thanks in advance for any replies.

We lived in Chesham until 1996.
We lived on Brushwood Road and all of that area was lovely at the time. The Spinney, Manor Road, Cameron Road , Ashfield. Eskdale.

Church street was nice.

I would avoid Bellingdon Road and the area around it.

I don’t know much about flooding.
However we lived at the top of a hill.

We lived in Chesham for about 5 years along Waterside. Drug issues were minor and what you might expect in a small town. Flooding was not an issue but I would say check out the commute time, in my experience getting into the city took over an hour.

Thanks for the replies.
@awakenme - just to confirm - where their drug issues along Waterside or just generaly in Chesham? thanks
I have checked the commute and it is a bit of a stretch for a northerner 😀- but its something I will have to adapt to - for the peaceful area I am looking for.

Would anyone know if many people drive into Chalfont and Latimer and park on one of the street nearby and walk to the station - to get a more frequents service than Chesham - or do the free parking streets get filled up quickly?

Chesham is pretty hilly - if you’re concerned about flooding I’d think it’s easy to avoid if you choose a house up the hills. I wouldn’t worry about drugs either - it’s a fairly typical middle of the road sort of place.

Hi I honestly don't think there is a much of a drug problem and no not specific to Waterside. There was the usual canabis smoking but I didn't see much else. I didn't know of anyone driving to Chalfont and Latimer and think there may be parking restrictions on nearby roads but it's been a long time since I was there.

Chesham Metropolitan line is slow into London, hence prices are lower. Amersham and Chalfonts are more expensive for a reason. The better areas are on the hills! Although around the church is pleasant. Flooding - go up a hill. Drugs. They exist. But, good news, they are not catching! If you don’t want them, don’t buy. Little evidence on the streets of drug use.

Chesham town centre is not great. A bit run down. The road from Amersham to Chesham cuts off the park and church from the town. It’s fairly horrible with narrow lanes. I would look at where the best schools are- and it’s not Waterside.

Not sure if you’ll get much free parking at Chalfont snd Latimer. If they did that all day it would be rammed. Most roads are controlled. Tring. Berkhamsted, Amersham and Great Missenden are all nicer.

I don't think anyone said the best schools/area was Waterside. I have no idea about schools as we lived there way before children. Perhaps you can advise?

My comment about schools really meant that in this area the best schools tend to be in the more middle class areas. I would look at village schools first. Others may nit agree. However you must decide what type of neighbourhood you like as schools admit on catchments by and large. So there are differences. It really depends on what you want and what you can buy.

Thanks for the continued inputs, much appreciated.
Schools are not an issue for us - my youngest is in the final year for A levels and hopefully off to university in September.
The Chalfont parking was just a possible backup plan in case of Chesham tube cancellations...

On that subject, do the peak commute time tubes get cancelled often at short notice - e.g. you get to the station and end up waiting more than 30 mins?

Not that I’ve been aware of. The TfL info app is pretty good. Met line is pretty reliable but obviously has the odd glitch!

Thanks for all the replies.
We will be visiting Chesham again for a long weekend of reconnaissance - definitely top of the list now for relocation location 😁

Chalfont and Latimer station has a car park, it’s best to use that. The surrounding streets for the met line stations will all have parking restrictions from 11am to midday on weekdays (as an example).