Is Welling a good area ?

[Sjoe]

Hello All,

I am currently looking at moving from my flat into a house as I have a son now who is almost 1year old hence I think it would be nice to have a garden that he could play in. We live in Denmark Hill in SE London and would like to stay in the area as there are some very good schools here and it's just a lovely place but prices are through the roof hence I'm looking a little bit further out which brings me to my question; is Welling a good area? I have seen a few houses there that we could afford but have no knowledge of the area apart from the little I've read on the internet. I have been there once not too long ago and seemed nice but rather quite. Like you'd have to drive to the closest supermarket.
Is Welling an area you'd recommend to a young family? What are the schools like? Things to do?
Thank you.

Head slightly more south

Much nicer and greener and direct trains to London if you need them for work

It's not somewhere I'd chose to live tbh. Agree with pp come a bit further south. What's your budget?

Welling is one of the very few areas in London where I have witnessed racial abuse on more than 1 occasion.

Where about in Welling? There is a Tesco and a Morrisons on the high street. Lots of buses to get to other parts of the borough (Sidcup/Bexleyheath/Woolwich). Close to Danson Park and Crook Log Leisure Centre.

Location-wise I think it's good and few different restaurants have popped up when I drive through. Yes there are some more gentrified places around nearby but it might suit what you are looking for.

@longdistanceclaraclara thank you for your response. Budget is around 570K

A home to one right wing party of the past. Can't remember if it's NF or BNP. At least
some of Stephen Lawrence's killers were from that area.

It used to house the BNP headquarters and its racist legacy lives on there.

I wouldn’t live there again, doubly so with a kid. There are some nice houses but it felt run down for many years. My LL used to come home and report daytime muggings to me, and once someone wielding a machete. This was 8 years ago.

@oneplustwoplustwoplusone thank you for your response. I'm looking around Cleveland Road, it's about 5mins from the station.

@AnnaSewell thank you for your response. Oh didn't know that but can see how that makes sense as Eltham where the incident occurred is not far away.

@KievLoverTwo thank you for your response.
Goodness me! Looks like I will have to cross Welling of our list.

Welling and Bexleyheath are seeing rising amounts of crime. Lots of cars getting stolen from drives/streets, racism, pickpocketing in shopping areas, kids seem to be causing more trouble in gangs. The traffic can be abysmal, especially if there's an issue on the A2 or at the Dartford Tunnel. You do have access to some good grammars if your child passes the 11+, but the local comps are nothing to write home about.

Sorry. Members of my family who grew up around there are all horrible.

Welling pops up on here three or four times a year. If you do a search you will find people’s suggestions of better places to raise a child nearby.

I grew up making regular family visits to Eltham, which has some attractions.

How about Eltham, New Eltham, Mottingham or Lee? I think they are all nicer than Welling.

I think Welling is getting a slightly unfair rap here - crime rates or the types of crime increasing aren't unusual for London, the BNP don't really exist anymore and Stephen Lawrence was murdered 30 years ago in Eltham.

However, it was one of the few places where the Conservatives held their seat at the last election. Of the three MPs in Bexley Borough two are Conservative and one is Labour.

That being said with your budget you could get something in a 'nicer' area

Welling is ok - I like that there are lots of green spaces and lots for kids to do. There is deprivation and crime but I don’t find it worse than other places I’ve lived in London to be honest. However, the secondary schools are very poor (I know your son is young but it comes round sooner than you think!)

If you can afford it, Shooters Hill is very nice and still feels well connected. Further out (Sidcup / New Eltham / Bromley ) are nice places but they don’t really feel like London, there’s definitely more of a ‘small town in Kent’ vibe and people tend to be a bit cliquey / less open minded.

The Falconwood side of Welling is nicer and as someone else said, further up Shooters Hill. We're in Eltham but 10 min walk from Falconwood and it's lovely. Eltham also Labour rather than neighbouring Bexley areas where Reform are popular.
Someone mentioned secondary schools and you've got Harris Falconwood near Welling plus the Bexley grammars.

I don't know the are you're looking at (I know the high street obviously) but nearby areas are definitely nice, like around Danson Park or closer to Falconwood community centre.

Thank you everyone for your response, very much appreciated.
I have a viewing booked in now so I'll take some time to have a look around the area whilst I'm there. Ideally, we'd like to remain here in Denmark Hill as we have family also close by but unfortunately we cannot afford it around here.
Thanks also for the suggestions of other places we could consider, very helpful.

How funny. I used to live near Denmark Hill but was born in Welling! Left when I was 10. Cannot update you though!

Welling isn't the world's greatest area, but not is it the worst, and I'd listen more to the recent commentators than worrying about someone carrying a machete 8 years ago. For the budget you could definitely be looking in the nicer pockets, namely South Welling, adjacent to Danson park and towards Falconwood, but then for the budget you could also be looking at better areas generally in the same locale e.g. New Eltham, Sidcup.

Come to SE18! We moved here from Camberwell 3 years ago and absolutely love the area. So many young families and really genuinely diverse and interesting.

You can get lovely houses in your budget. Either in Shooters Hill which is leafy and nice or by Plumstead Common.
You're close to Oxleas Woods for walks and great primaries with access to grammars at secondary.

No they were from Eltham. Primary schools are fantastic. Stick to south welling. It’s changed a lot over years, lots of parks and woods, also has grammar schools.

How did the viewing go?
I've grown up in the borough of Bromley and I'd suggest having a look around here.
Do you need to be close to a station?

Have you exhausted the more south central options, rather than east? For example, this is in SE20 (Penge). You would have loads of great infants and primaries locally, as well as 1 minute from High Street shops, etc. https://www.zoopla.co.uk/for-sale/details/67850884/

Two railway stations a short walk away - Penge East to Victoria in 18 mins or Brixton in 10. Penge West has Overground to Canada Water, Whitechapel, Shoreditch, Highbury, etc.

Loads of buses incl 176 to Denmark Hill (and beyond).

Lots of parks incl Crystal Palace Park a short walk away.

I'm looking to move to South Welling near Danson park. Bit worried, is it really that bad? I'm Indian...