Elephant and Castle

[ED71]

DH and I are looking to move back into London due to work. Our two DS’s are now in their 20’s and at Uni, one at Central St Martins so he’d be moving with us. Elephant and Castle was a very different place when I lived in London - views on life there now, has it had a proper glow up, good roads, bad bits, any other thoughts. Looking to buy a 3 bed with a garden/outside space. The three dogs replace the DC !

Burgess Park half hour walk

I'm going to warn you off of the area too op. I worked in Walworth about ten years ago and after travelling through Elephant every morning I'd have to say that it's the last place I'd want to live. So many colleagues had their phones snatched at bus stops around there , and I was approached by so many pushy men that wouldn't take no for an answer around Walworth/Elephant and Castle. I've lived in London my entire life and would class Elephant and Castle as pretty bad.

Dulwich seems nice though , I always felt safe there.

@Costcolover - now why is that do you think?

I don't actually mind E&C. But it's where you buy a new high rise flat not a dog friendly garden type place.

I have a friend who lives on the new Kent road so I've spent a lot of time in the area. I love it! Transport links are terrific for both over and underground and hipster bermondsey and borough market are a short walk away. There are some beautiful Georgian family houses just off the main roads e.g. Trinity Street.

OP don’t listen to views from people who worked there 10 years ago or who passed through once in 1983 🙄 I moved from the area last year and miss it (we needed a bigger house and houses in the area can be pricey). It is SO central, you can walk to get your groceries from Borough, walk to the South Bank, and there are some decent cafes and restaurants in E&C itself. Also don’t underestimate the spending on facilities because it’s a deprived area, plenty of leisure centres, libraries etc. Of course there are rougher areas (happy to share via PM) but equally there are some lovely streets, you could look at Trafalgar Avenue (overlooking Burgess Park), Merrow Street and surrounding area (although those houses tend to be quite small) or Liverpool Grove. Houses like this come up every now and then https://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-prices/details/england-62953926-11288590?s=1bf7b247029b95232c8a14696202aea3ecdfed03fd16b137d4295c61a6d2443e#/ You don’t mention budget but if it’s not an issue look at Addington Square. I should say it’d be a slightly different story if you had young kids, with secondary schools being a factor in our move away.

Really wouldn't recommend living there from personal experience

You want a three bed with a garden in - "checks notes" - Elephant and Castle?

Have you actually been to Elephant and Castle?

Yes we have - some period houses.

Useful info and yes looking at Dulwich too - lived there 36 years ago !

Very interesting, thank you. Budget up to £1m, we have three small dogs and currently have a paved courtyard that they are very happy with as they get long walks.

Of course I have

I think you can get something for £1M in a much nicer area than E&C.

Place is a building site attached to a roundabout.

Unfortunately I agree with this.

There are some nice streets on the Lambeth north side of e&c, leading to the IWM. It is amazingly central and you can walk your dogs in Archbishops park or whatever it's called.

But if I were you I'd look at East Dulwich where you have Peckham Rye and Dulwich woods not far away

Agree with all the PP it very much wouldn’t be my choice, even after the refurb. Nice enough pockets here and there but they are pockets.

How often will you be commuting into London for work and where do you need to get to?

Yes where do you need to commute to?

Can't imagine having a million pounds and moving to E&C! It's fine but there's so many nicer greener places.

It’s Geraldine Harmsworth park or Bedlam park as it’s known. The IWM was the New Bethlehem Hospital for mental illnesses.

what did I start ?

How did you settle on E&C as a serious contender OP? What factors were you thinking of? With that budget and three dogs it feels like an odd choice.

Why not focusing around King’s Cross, for Central St Martins, or the Olympic park area which is 7mins on a train from Stratford international to King’s Cross.
with the new UCL, sadlers wells, v&a plus alll the sporting provision and Westfield there’s lots to be said about the new build houses around there.

www.rightmove.co.uk/properties/150177065

The Elephant and Castle neighbourhood is being physically, socially and ethnically transformed. This started with the demolition of the Heygate estate, a classic for stigmatised perceptions of council housing and the people who live in it. As the local 35% Campaign has meticulously documented, a succession of promises to Heygate residents were broken to arrive at a situation where 1,214 council homes were demolished, to be replaced with 2,704 new homes, of which only 82 (3%) are for social rent. The HA partner was London and Quadrant. To be eligible for the cheapest one-bedroom home built by them on the Heygate site, people needed a minimum household income of £57,500. The average household income in that part of Southwark is £24,324

Burgess park used to be called murder park when I lived there, although I’m one of the ones you’ve been told to ignore.

I'm not sure £1m goes very far in central London these days, and if I was going to move back to London I'd be buying somewhere in SE1. Property prices are bound to go up as the area continues to gentrify. Go for it OP!

@JenniferBooth thank you for filling this in - social cleansing at its most blatant