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From The Times

June 1, 2007

Forest Hill is good value for first-time buyers

Forest Hill has some of the best views over London - and it’s good value for first-time buyers, reports Norman Miller

FOREST HILL is aptly named. One of the highest points in London, much of this southeast suburb has tree-lined streets that surge up to crest hills with some of the best views in the city.

As in any good forest, little lanes suggest intriguing detours. Albion Villas Road, for example, leads down to a tiny green bordered by a mix of Victorian piles and cottages. Havelock Walk, by contrast, slips quietly off the busy London Road to a cobbled enclave of architect-designed houses and artists’ studios, including that of the award-winning sculptor David Mach, that host popular open days through the year.

Horniman Gardens is one of the capital’s most appealing small parks. Enjoying fabulous views, its mixture of formal and open spaces is augmented by sculptural sundials, a child-friendly animal enclosure and a bandstand that presents free music events in summer.

The jewel in Forest Hill’s crown is here, too. The weekly London listings magazine Time Out has picked out the Horniman Museum as London’s finest “secret” museum, a beautiful Victorian edifice extended with a bright modern annexe that houses a wonderfully eclectic ethnographic collection – its 350,000 objects range from Asian puppets to Haitian voodoo altars – amassed by the Victorian tea merchant Frederick Horniman. Alongside Horniman’s cornucopia, there’s a superb interactive musical instrument collection, a nature section including an aquarium, stuffed animals (don’t miss the giant walrus), and temporary exhibitions. Beside the museum, a beautiful Victorian glasshouse is the scene of summer classical concerts.

Forest Hill sits quietly next to more high-profile areas. Perfectly placed to absorb the overspill of people priced out of trendy East Dulwich just down the road, it’s also within ten minutes’ drive of the millionaire enclave of Dulwich with its village vibe. For foodies, there’s a large concentration of restaurants in neighbouring Crystal Palace, alongside the famous park with its dinosaur area and maze.

It’s an area equally well connected in terms of transport, despite the common London perception that SE postcodes are the back of beyond. Frequent trains run to London Bridge in less than 15 minutes, with many more services for the short onward hop to Waterloo and Charing Cross. Direct services also run to Victoria, taking 35 minutes. “But there isn’t a Tube,” moan troglodyte types who prefer subterranean travel to bowling along tree-lined tracks above ground. But come 2010 even that will change, when the East London Line extension plugs Forest Hill into the Tube network, north to Highbury and Islington and south to West Croydon. Add decent schools – Horniman, Eliot Bank and St Bartholomew’s Church of England for primary level, Forest Hill Boys and Sydenham Girls at secondary – and you can see Forest Hill’s appeal to young families.

Stuart and Megan Sumner are new parents who are typical of the area’s incomers; they sold a two-bedroom flat in southwest London to buy a three-storey townhouse on Grassmount for £350,000. “We liked Forest Hill for various reasons,” says Stuart. “We were on the borders between Clapham and Brixton, a very urban and lively area, but besides Clapham Common there wasn’t a lot of green around. As new parents, we’re keen on trees and open spaces.”

Not that Forest Hill is a nightlife desert. The Dartmouth Arms is a good gastropub that retains some of its old boozer character. Opposite the station, The Hob has weekend band nights, occasional theatre and comedy.

There is a cheap and classy mix along Dartmouth Road, the main shopping focus apart from the giant Sainsbury’s on London Road. A few empty shops remain, but signs of gentrification are clear. Two florists slug it out for bouquet business, The Hub bulges with antique temptations, and Provender provides that key indicator of upward mobility – an organic deli/caff.

There is also Gallic style in Dartmouth Road with the fashion boutique Mayo Maker offering an upmarket complement to the street style on offer at Bunka a few doors down. “We noticed a lot of people moving here,” says Alexandre Pruyekemaker, one of its founders, “and it’s close to the City. There’s an excitement now.”

Alas, the Victorian swimming pool – the oldest public baths in London – and library are closed for renovation, but Lewisham Council says that they will reopen within a year. A similar time-frame should allow for completion of a major project from Tower Homes by the railway, of 40 one and two-bed flats and ten live-work units.

Forest Hill isn’t perfect, of course. It’s too close to Catford for starters, and crime, as in any part of London, can be a problem. The red route status of London Road poses parking problems for anyone driving in from surrounding areas, though side streets and Sainsbury’s offer some relief. The council, meanwhile, seems slow to realise the area’s possibilities, granting idiotic planning permissions (why let two bookies open opposite each other on Dartmouth Road?) and allowing Perry Vale’s shopping parade gently to decay behind the station. But the potential is clear. “We were also looking for somewhere to invest,” admits Stuart Sumner. “And with the Tube coming in 2010, it’s hard to see Forest Hill prices going down.” Like its streets, this is an area on the up.

Take a web TV tour around your own neighbourhood in London at timesonline.co.uk/coolinyourcode

RISINGINTEREST

Property prices have risen about 15 per cent in the past year, say the local agents Robert Stanford. “People have either heard about the East London Line or been recommended to look by friends.”

One-bed conversions sell from about £150,000. Devonshire Road and its offshoots are prime bets.

Expect to pay nearer £200,000 for an extra bedroom, though flats with views in Taymount Grange or neighbouring Forest Croft go for up to £250,000.

At the top end, substantial Victorian houses around Canonbie Road or Church Rise sell for about £450,000.

Forest Hill is a brilliant place to live and I completely agree that it would be even nicer if we had more boutique shops, upmarket cafes and wine bars! I've just been for lunch in a gorgeous new tea room in East Dulwich - Forest Hill could definately become the next East Dulwich!

Vicky WIllan, Forest Hill, England

Am in total agreement about Forest Hill - it is a great place to live. All we need now is for retailers to recognise the fact that the demand is there - residents are crying out for upmarket shops and restaurants - coffee shops / butchers / bookshops / good restaurants / DIY / card shops ... Dartmouth Road is there ready and waiting!

New Resident, FH, London

The article failed to mention London Wildlife Trust's Sydenham Hill Wood Local Nature Reserve. One of the largest areas of Woodland within 5 miles of the City and designated a site of metropolitan importance for nature conservation.

This year the London Wildlife Trust will be celebrating 25 years of involvement with the Wood in its "Sylvan Jubilee" festival. This will consist of numerous events starting with the Jeremy Deller (2004 Turner Prize Winner)endorsed "Upstaging Nature" art exhibition in late august and culminating in a Woodland Fair on Sept 1st.

Ian Holt, London,