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.

Have a welded bracelet and I love it. White gold from Astrid and Miyu

But I do never take of my wedding rings and rarely take out my earrings

Ah wrong thread @mumsnet can you delete?

That area is absolutely fine.

Sidcup is nicer

Do you stay around there? Can I ask you a few questions if that's okay

Agreed. I'm in Eltham but we know quite a few people around there and it's fine.

Same as the previous poster, I don't live in Welling, I live in Sidcup, but kids go to primary school in Welling (at a very diverse local catholic school) and we have friends in the area. Danson Park is lovely and the areas adjacent are all fine places to live.

Thank you so much, may I ask what made you choose a primary school in Welling over Sidcup and which school is this? Also wondering what sort of activities did you take your kids to when they were younger...

I prefer Sidcup over Welling but we really like this bungalow we've seen close to Danson Park and are curious to know if it's a safe area. We're Indian too so living somewhere close to diverse schools would be helpful.

Please if you could share your thoughts I'd really appreciate it.

I'm a baptised catholic so had the choice of religious schools. The catholic primary in central Welling (you'll find it by searching) has an excellent reputation, and we chose schools during COVID lockdown so the choice was more data driven using results, and progress scores rather than by the "feel" or proximity of the school because we couldn't go to open days.

Whilst the area isn't particularly diverse compared to other bits of London, the catholic schools locally tend to be much more diverse than the local secular primaries because they admit any religion over non religious as a policy. Hence many Hindus/Muslims in addition to Catholics/Christian denominations at this school. To give you one data point, there are more non white british children in both of my kids classes compared to white British.

In terms of activities, anything you might want is available relatively locally.

What sort of incident if you don't mind sharing and was this recent?

Is it still bad? I'm quite worried after reading this.

To shining, I now live near Danson Park, kids at local grammars and there are a lot of South Asian families in this area. I have not noticed racism particularly and the grammar schools, particularly Townley are very diverse. I think Blackfen, Sidcup etc are more predominantly white populated. I also had big reservations due to the history of Stephen Lawrence and the BNP being historically active in the Welling area, but I think a lot of ex Londoners are moving here for affordable housing and good schools, so things have and are changing.

That's good to hear, racism is the last thing I'd want us to experience, I've been through it in my childhood and the bullying leaves scars that never go away. It erodes your self-confidence and self-esteem. I don't have a problem with white dominated areas, as long as, people are nice and everyone is treated respectfully. I'm glad to hear that things have changed for the better 🙏
Hope to bump into you sometime! Do you live in South Welling near Danson Park?

Sorry you said you did live near Danson Park, that's great! It seems to be a lovely area. I am looking forward to moving there. We're currently based in East London and we're mainly moving there because it's a better area with good schools.

@morningbell do you mind if I DM you about the catholic school?

One on public transport. Verbal racial abuse between 2 passengers. Another in the town centre, a loud obviously racist comment from a man to a woman who walked past him. Both within last couple of years. Bear in mind that I have only been to Welling about 5 times in 2 years.

@shininglight16 As a counterpoint to the above poster, i've been taking kids to their school in Welling for 3.5 years now. I've not witnessed racism, in the town, or on public transport, which i've been using at least once a week over that period.

Of course, that isn't to say racism doesn't exist, and you can't totally discount the unfortunate history of the area, but i'd like to think a lot of that has been consigned to history. Ultimately, people can share anecdotes as much as they like, it is no substitute for spending some time in and around the area yourself to get a feel for it, especially if you're still worrying about it. Ultimately, i'd have no issue saying South Welling near Danson Park is a decent place to live, for any family.

@arlequin yes happy to respond to any questions over DM.

Thank you so much @morningbell I’ve DMed

To shining, we live on Bexleyheath side of Danson Park now, but rented on the Welling side before to get a feel for the area, after selling our flat in SE London. We're happy here, sure you will be too!

Petts Wood, Locksbottom, Orpington are all in Bromley Borough have access to great green spaces and schools. Definitely not Welling.

@Enterthedragonqueen The op proposes to live adjacent to Danson Park, which is one of the loveliest green spaces going SE of London. It also has several excellent primary schools in the vicinity (Eastcote, Danson Primary, St Stephens) to cater for the op's young children.

Sure, Welling high street isn't much to write home about, and the areas you've listed may be more desirable (and will therefore have house prices to match, especially Petts Wood), but if you're inferring that Welling doesn't have access to good schools and green space is just wrong.

@Enterthedragonqueen thank you but whilst im sure they are lovely places they are completely out of our budget. Nothing decent within our price range especially Petts Wood

@morningbell this is exactly what I thought when I saw the list and a quick look at zoopla confirmed it.
I have since found a nice property in Welling; minutes from Hook Lane, St. Stephen's and Danson Primary ...@arlequin what did you decide?

Thanks a lot. We're hopefully moving near Danson park too. Would love to meet other mums living around the same area!

Thank you, this is very reassuring. The area around Danson Park seems lovely to be honest.