Tolworth / Surbiton for family and forever home - advice please

[freeedum]

hi, I'm helping my sister look for a property. She is currently looking at Tolworth and Surbiton - but doesn't know this area.

Can anyone advise about safety, things to do, schools and whether they're nice places to live for families and a potential forever home location?

thank you

Bump

The trains from Surbiton to Waterloo are very fast, the schools throughout the borough of Kingston upon Thames are excellent and Tolworth girls is a very sought after girls secondary school.
The downsides are the traffic and house prices (high). There is loads to do, you are near central London by train and a bus ride from bushy park, Richmond park and short drive to the Surrey countryside etc.

Surbiton is much nicer than Tolworth, though much more expensive. They are both safe. Surbiton has much better trains into London, though I think it's overpriced. What's important to her? What's her budget and what does she need for her budget? There are other similar areas nearby that might work better.

What the others said. Tolworth is much cheaper and there aren’t as many trains. I’ve always felt safe there though. Handy for the A3! Surbiton is fancier but has prices to match. When we were looking in this area we found that if a Surbiton property popped on the market that we could afford, it was actually in Tolworth.

Surbiton schools are excellent, had a work colleague who lived there. Lovely area though expensive.

Thank you all for your responses.

my sisters budget is £725k max. She needs a 3 bed (good sizes) house with garden, bonus if she gets parking. Preferably semi-detached or end or terrace on a quiet street.

it’s always difficult when you dont know the area.

if anyone has specific streets/roads in tolworth and Surbiton that would be really helpful (even if the houses are over her budget) as she might be able to stretch her budget next year if circumstances allow.

thank you

Forgot to add, she is also okay to walk to either stations to get to work in the city (hybrid). Walk can be about 15mins or so.

There was an acid attack recently on the high street and there have been muggings recently on the Main Street running up to Ewell road, around NYE there were balaclava clad men smashing into properties with people obviously at home, so…..not that safe.

Thank you got sharing this, we had no idea. I will read about these crimes. It’s horrific! If u have newspaper links that would be super helpful

Any specific roads anyone? Bump

Douglas Road (Tolworth) is popular - any of the surrounding area is equally nice in my opinion, although parking can be an issue. Tolworth Junior School (it has an entrance on Douglas Rd) is great.

I've always felt it to be a safe area, but have recently moved away so may have missed the horrific incidents in Surbiton town centre that a PP refers to.

@Optimist1 really appreciate your help!
We'll have a look at that road.
I just wondered if you recommend roads closer to Tolworth high street -maybe between Tolworth hospital and Tolworth High street?

I'm just thinking about her budget.
Safety and schools are probably my sister's biggest concerns

thank you

Between the hospital and the high street is good, too, though the houses are less "character " and more "identikit suburbia" if you see what I mean. A little wander on Google Street View will show you!
You haven't said whether it's primary/secondary/state/primary schools she's looking for but I do know the catchment area for Tolworth Juniors and Infants isn't as wide as you'd think, given the size of the school- lots of children in the area!

@Optimist1 I see what you mean about character. Closer to the hospital there are quite a few roads with what look like 1920-30s semis. We might explore there, but i'm not sure if she'd hear the A road from there. She hates road noise.

So, in terms of the kids, one is in primary and the other in secondary. So, she kind of needs both. There is a school called Dysart (mixed for ages 4-19 years) so that might be an option for both children. She prefers state schools.

Do you know much about this school?

I also wanted to ask, do you prefer Surbiton to New Malden? My sister thinks NM is nice but she is concerned their schools are all over the place and too many single sex/Catholic. Surbiton/Tolworth came up after thinking about extending the search area but as per this thread, it's an area she doesn't know. She didn't know NM either until she started looking around a month ago but she isn't finding anything suitable and the houses don't seem big enough for their price (she thinks it's over priced there).

Sorry, I know nothing about Dysart.

In my opinion Tolworth is much nicer than New Malden, although there could be parts of NM that I haven't been to that are lovely.

Bear in mind that the A3 runs through Tolworth and New Malden. I grew up and went to school in that area, also lived in Surbiton. The further East you can get from the A3, the better off you'll be. Check out areas like Thames Ditton, Long Ditton, Hinchley Wood and Esher. Personally, I would avoid New Malden/Worcester Park area.

@Jonismorf thank you! I’ll have a look at those areas - is there anything particular about them that you like?

Also, what is it about New Malden/Worcester Park area that you don’t like?

appreciate your honesty

Well, I'll be honest - I don't like cities or densely populated suburban-type environments. New Malden/Worcester Park are just a bit too "Londonish" for my tastes. The areas I mentioned are much more "green belt", you'll get village fayres, flower shows etc. A bit twee for some, maybe, but I think they have a friendlier "small town/village" vibe to them. Not so much in the New Malden/Worcester Park area. I live in the New Forest now, so I see more ponies, donkeys, deer and cows than people😁

Dysart school is a special school for kids with disabilities.

You're going to struggle to get a 3 bed with no traffic noise in Tolworth or surbiton to be honest with that budget. As a PP said, if Tolworth, the roads around Douglas Road are nice within the catchment for good schools.

Long Ditton would be a good bet if you're after somewhere quieter and greener but still 20 mins walk to Surbiton station. It's pricey but there are houses in budget if your sister doesn't mind what style of property it is.

Thank you for your honest response. Those areas you listed look great but maybe a bit too far out for the sister. I think she finds NM/Motspur Park abit bland for the prices. She personally can't see what's special about the area there.

We will be in Surbiton this weekend to check out Surbiton and Tolworth!

@AllGonePeteTong1 Ah, I should have checked that about the school. But still, it's amazing that it's there for these children who need it and it's rated outstanding.

Hmmm, back to the drawing board with schools now! Feeling a bit silly for not checking that now.

PP mentioned Long Ditton - my sis thinks it's too far out but perhaps she may consider it if surbiton/tolworth doesn't work out.

On google maps, roads around Douglas Road look fine, they look Victorian period and very residential. I'm just wondering if you know whether this is a flooding area though?

You can check the flood risk on the environment agency flood check map.

Going purely from memory, no flooding in Tolworth/Surbiton area!
I hope your exploratory visit helps clarify things for your sister, OP.

She might get something in berrylands - nicer than Tolworth IMO, closer to Surbiton, station etc