Is Grove Park a good place to live?

[estebancolberto]

We found some good sized ex council properties (with spacious rooms and gardens) in Grove Park closer to the Downham Fields and Leisure Center. Is that area of Grove Park good and safe to live? We are planning for a kid soon and plan to stay for 4-5 years before moving to a 3 bed house somewhere else.

I know that area really well. It’s fine, basically. It’s next to Bromley which is a much more desirable area and houses there go for much more money so you won’t make as much on your property, but it’s all relative. Primary schools around there are excellent, good children’s centres too. Secondaries not so much. Culturally diverse community. Fly tipping is an issue, fireworks can be too.

Grove park towards Lee is much nicer than the Downham end to be honest. The downham end is pretty rundown imo...always lots of rubbish around and not particularly desirable. But, I wouldn't say it's unsafe particularly...no more than any other place in London.

There are areas within that part of Downham with a higher than average percentage of people out of work, supported by benefits and charities. That can be for a variety of reasons, of course, but the area can be run down and attract anti-social behaviour. There will be pockets where this isn’t the case at all though.

Grove Park is a hidden gem! The area near the station/Baring Road is perfectly nice. Plenty of good 2 bed flats going on Burnt Ash Hill which is a quiet, leafy road and also walkable to Lee Station. I reckon that area would be a great choice for a starter flat for a couple and a baby/toddler.
The choice of green areas in the locality is amazing. Chinbrook Meadows, Horn Park and Grove Park Nature reserve. Huge woodland area (Elmstead Woods) accessible on foot. The Downham end is less salubrious for sure but it's hardly "no go".

Well I think it's a dump - I live 15 mins away and have the misfortune of getting off the train there sometimes, it's like the arse end of nowhere - run down shops, dodgy looking people, litter... I feel depressed just walking up the huge bridge from the train station.

What's your budget? I might be able to suggest other areas

I am definitely hearing of more young professional couples and families moving to Downham and starting families. But as @WellTidy mentions it is still quite an economically deprived area. I'm not sure how safe i would feel walking around at night. I wouldn't set foot in the main pub in Downham but the leisure centre is actually great. Very clean and friendly.

Not somewhere I would choose to live

Sorry but I would not want to move there especially the area near Downham. Let us know your budget and I'm sure we could suggest somewhere else.

I’m left wondering of which professional couples are moving to Grove Park 😂

Look in Grove Park itself rather than Downham. There is a really big difference between the two areas even though they are close together. They are not one and the same. Grove Park is actually decent and it's an affordable place to get your foot on the property ladder.

As a person in a professional couple I would not live there if you’d pay me. Not sure if ladder concept ever works put in the areas that aren’t popular. Whatever you pay in interest on these properties in Grove Park it’ll take you forever to get back, more likely never. Just like rent.

I live in Grove Park/Downham way area ,. That area, with the shops, is SHIT. They put in new benches for folk to rest and they are taken up by the local drunk squad most of the time.
I would head towards the Lee part of Baring Road, far nicer in my opinion.
Lee has a nice railway station that is Zone 3 whereas Grove Park Station is Zone 4.
Or Burnt Ash Hill (runs parallel to Baring Road) has lovely houses/flats and a great pub called The Crown.

I don't blame those who have said they wouldn't live here in my part of the area.
The single row of shops where Sainsbury's Local is is nasty and grubby too. Needs demollishing to get rid of the horrid 1960s facade.

Depends what part you are talking about.

The area by the station is horrible.

Downham wouldn't want YOU with your judgement anyway.

WOW

So you think all people who live here are non Professionals?
What are we then? Benefit scroungers/?!

Agree with all this.

OP that is Downham Way area and you will be right in the middle of it. Good variety of shops there though and the catholic school along Moorside Road is supposed to be very good.

Grove Park encompases

Baring Road and all the nice roads going off of it
Burnt Ash Lane (runs parallel to Baring Road)
Chinbrook Road
There are not many (if at all) shops though unless you walk too the rotten parade opposite the station or down to Burnt Ash Hill in Lee.

Best of Luck. Its not all bad though , despite what some are saying about Downham!

I Thank You :)

There has been talk of demolishing that awful parade but that has been talk since I moved back here in 2014.

Once you've walked past the Tesco petrol station walking towards lee, the area improves significantly

Yep

I forgot to add, OP, further towards Lee end of Baring Road is a lovely little park with a children's play area, a track to run or speed walk round and exercise machines. They moved the play area years ago to the front as it was tucked out the way and I rarely took my then youngest two DC there for that very reason.
There is also a very nice cafe called Cafe Lokum

I have lived in Lee and Grove Park/Downham and would choose Lee over my end
The forgotten part of Lewisham we call it.

You can easily reach Lewisham, Blackheath and Eltham from Lee as well (if you use buses) and the train will take you to London or down into North Kent.

I live at the Lee end of Baring Road. We love it here. It's quiet with a lovely community. Baring school is excellent and we have some great local shops. Chemist, hair dressers, amazing new Indian and wood fired pizza place and the best fish and chips!
We are in one of the small Victorian terraces which are excellent value.
0.4 miles to Lee station and not far from Blackheath and Greenwich.

Baring School seems to have been consistently excellent.

I applied for my first child to go there in 1996 (we lived in Burnt Ash Hill then, near the Church) and it was oversubscribed even then. He went to Horn Park School as we lost an appeal.

There's plenty of professional working people living in the area...they're just less visible than the boozers and people who have time to hang round the takeaways all day.