West Green Area/Turnpike Lane: What is it like?

[Hithere129]

Hi everyone,

I’m considering to buy a house just west of Downhills Park (Belmont Avenue, N17). My original preference was to be closer to the Victoria line between Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale, but things didn’t quite work out, and I ended up looking further west.

I know Tottenham a little, though my experience has mostly been on the east side. Seven Sisters and Tottenham Hale seem to have a lot happening at the moment, with prices rising quickly (understandably, since they started off low).

The agent mentioned that Belmont Avenue is in a good school catchment area, but since I don’t have kids, I’m more interested in how it feels to live here day-to-day and what the potential for value growth might be. From what I can tell, it feels like there’s less happening around the Turnpike Lane side—though Downhills Park is lovely.

Does anyone here live nearby or know the area well? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

I lived in the area on Downhills Ave for a few years until 2016 and my sister lived on Crossfield Rd at a similar time. I'm sure it has changed hugely but when we were there it had a good community feel with lots going on, diversity, good local shops and pubs, excellent green spaces, great transport. I can't comment on prices now but back then we were able to swap our 1.5 bed flat on the Harringay Ladder for a three bed 1930s semi for about the same price.

And of course like anywhere it has it's problems - I actually got mugged in Downhills Park in broad daylight. But overall we really liked it. We moved away as we wanted to get out of London altogether, otherwise would have stayed in the area.

Oh thank you for the assurance! It’s good to hear that the area is nice. In fact I decided to go take a walk in the area today. It was lovely indeed- my previous experience on the area is the Turnpike lane side of West Green Road, which can be grim- but walking in small roads in West Green was really lovely!!

I lived in the Turnpike Lane area, left at the end of 2019. Was grateful to get out tbh, it never felt safe or like a home to me. Amazing turkish food on Green Lanes, but that was about it!

Downhills Park/Belmont Avenue is literally the heart of the gentrified Tottenham.
Good community, nice schools, very 'middle class'.

It's very different from the rest of Tottenham and even Turnpike Lane which is just a few minutes away.

@MissKittyFantastico84 thank you for sharing your experience- Do you mind if I ask which road you lived? I think the area is very mixed- some parts can be unpleasant as you said!

@BlondieMuver Thank you! I was pleasantly surprised when I walked along Langham Road towards Belmont Avenue, it’s fascinating how the atmosphere can change so quickly from one street to the next!

Haha we’re lived at the very end of Langham Road, furthest from Turnpike Lane station. We got broken into about a year after we moved in, and there were sad incidents of sexual assault in the park. As well as frequent gang incidents in the area. I know this stuff happens everywhere in London, but I never really enjoyed living there. Always felt a bit of doom and gloom returning after any break away. Sorry to not be more positive! We moved in 2019, so perhaps things have changed.

Our neighbour was also frequently arrested for domestic abuse, and there were smack dealers operating next door too. I’m sure you can understand why we were keen to leave…

@MissKittyFantastico84 Oh no, I’m really sorry to hear your house was broken into. I can imagine you never quite feel the same sense of safety after something like that. I hope you’re feeling settled and happy where you are now. It was really helpful that you shared your experience, it’s given me a much clearer idea of what to expect. I’ve decided to put an offer forward anyway. It’s a bit closer to the Piccadilly line, which isn’t my first choice, but it does tick most of my other boxes!

@Hithere129I wish you all the best with your house hunting! I have friends who still live there, very close to where we were and they love it. It’s well connected and you could get some great deals, considering how easy it is to get central. We had our son in 2017 and just needed a more family friendly vibe, closer to family. Needless to say, we ended up South of the river, back where we grew up, south london roots die hard!!

We live on the other side of Green Lanes but I regularly walk my dog down Langham Road and through neighbouring streets to get to Belmont Rec and Downhills Park every time I always think how clean and quiet they are! It's become such a haven since they introduced the Low Traffic Neighbourhood scheme. My only red flag would secondary schools if you did have kids one day – the closest is Park View which is good but not great.