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West Norwood news, chitter chatter and gossip

So two years on....what's the verdict on West Norwood now? Seems like there's been a few shootings over the last fews years - one kid killed at a bus stop on the high street last month :( - but there's also been stuff like the West Norwood Feast happening monthly, the local No Car day...

Still "not dodgy but boring"? Or something else now...?
 
ianw said:
So two years on....what's the verdict on West Norwood now? Seems like there's been a few shootings over the last fews years - one kid killed at a bus stop on the high street last month :( - but there's also been stuff like the West Norwood Feast happening monthly, the local No Car day...

Still "not dodgy but boring"? Or something else now...?
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It's fine. Just very boring and a bit grim. I'd honestly rather live in South Norwood. Which is good, because I do. I'd be looking towards the West Dulwich end and towards Tulse Hill if I was to look there.
 
It's slowly starting to change, some little shops and bars opening. A nice little Portuguese near the cemetery, a posh bakers, a deli, a monthly food market, few pubs, good cafes, 4 supermarkets - tesco, sainsbury, iceland and co-op, lots of little odds and sod shops....3 or 4 charity shops.

It's a bit derpressing to walk along the road, but I think it'll change quite a bit in the next few years....
 
Does the South London Theatre still do the comedy night on the last Sunday of every month? That was always good for a laugh...
 
ianw said:
Do you live there Nanker? Would love to hear from someone who lives in WN right now...
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I'm in Tulse Hill, but use West Norwood alot. Nanker Jnr goes to school there.

It can feel a bit downtrodden at times, but as I've said, it's picking up. People are taking a chance and opening businesses there, and I think in time it gain a bit of much needed life.

I never get any bother from anyone. Depends what you're looking for Ian.
 
What Nanker said. Hey, there's even a branch of the Blackbird bakery here now. Otherwise a more down-to-earth verging on downtrodden feel - depends on my mood and the weather which end of the spectrum it feels like. Plenty useful little corner shops run by very friendly people. You can check out the Portico Gallery next weekend at Lambeth Open art studios day. I found the most amazing yoga teacher here who teaches in her house which is a wonderful space. Railway tavern at Tulse Hill station has got the best beer garden I've come across in London. And someone has been doing a bit of guerilla gardening outside one of the estates and planted pretty wild flowers round the trees which make me smile every time I walk past.

What doesn't help is that there isn't a good focal point for the community, i.e. no square or bit of greenery in the centre, just a through road - Feast suffers from that as well I find, it's a bit too disjointed. And the library and Nettlefold Hall which is a focal point of sorts and where they run the occasional good event (went to see Mark Thomas there a couple of years ago) unfortunately has been closed for a good few months now because copper teefs took the roof. :(

So yeah, depends very much what you're after, but I feel very happy and very much at home in the area. :)
 
Thanks for all this.

I guess I was asking in relation to safety - there seems to have been a fair few shootings in the last two years, and I wondered if WN felt more dodgy, unsafe, than before...
 
I lived there summer 88 and nearby 89. Good craic, good folk.

Then, some Irish fella was murdered outside the pub I used to work after 89 & when I paid a nostalgic visit there - 10 years back the place had well changed. Pub was made over, apparently had become a dealer's haunt. Do have good memories of it, back in the day.
 
ianw said:
Thanks for all this.

I guess I was asking in relation to safety - there seems to have been a fair few shootings in the last two years, and I wondered if WN felt more dodgy, unsafe, than before...
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I'm sure it's all about what street you live in so there will be some people in Brixton who get to see all the crime and others who don't have a clue that much happens around here.
 
ianw said:
Thanks for all this.

I guess I was asking in relation to safety - there seems to have been a fair few shootings in the last two years, and I wondered if WN felt more dodgy, unsafe, than before...
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It's not unsafe at all.......shit happens around here, but it's never touched me or mine in 20 years. There are shootings in lots of parts of London, but Ive never been shot, nor known anyone who has.

I have been arrested for gun crime.....but outside of London :oops:
 
krtek a houby said:
I lived there summer 88 and nearby 89. Good craic, good folk.

Then, some Irish fella was murdered outside the pub I used to work after 89 & when I paid a nostalgic visit there - 10 years back the place had well changed. Pub was made over, apparently had become a dealer's haunt. Do have good memories of it, back in the day.
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It's Tescos now....if we're talking about the same boozer!
 
Nanker Phelge said:
It's not unsafe at all.......shit happens around here, but it's never touched me or mine in 20 years. There are shootings in lots of parts of London, but Ive never been shot, nor known anyone who has.
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Yes, of course. I live in Streatham Hill, about five mins walk to the bottom of Norwood Road, so I know the area, but I also know that things change area by area. I've lived in and around Brixton for the best part of 20 years and there are bits of Brixton that I love and bits I'd never live in.

I'd love to hear from someone who lives in WN right now, to hear what they think.
 
ianw said:
Yes, of course. I live in Streatham Hill, about five mins walk to the bottom of Norwood Road, so I know the area, but I also know that things change area by area. I've lived in and around Brixton for the best part of 20 years and there are bits of Brixton that I love and bits I'd never live in.

I'd love to hear from someone who lives in WN right now, to hear what they think.
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Not really sure what you want to hear...but here goes:

We moved to WN about a year ago and it is the first time we have lived in South London. We had some friends in Tulse Hill/West Norwood (not sure where the boundary is but they always said they were in Tulse Hill but now I think it is actually West Norwood) so knew the area to some degree. We have a house which looked like excellent value compared to other areas we had looked at. We live in a quietish residential part of WN about a 10 minute walk from the station and high street.

The transport links into central london are not bad at all. WN and TH train stations can get you pretty much anywhere and there are decent bus routes, especially the X68 (if you can get on it).

We have noticed a change in the year we have been here with things like the Feast once a month, couple of new shops opening on the High Street, like Blackbird Bakery, but there is still a long way to go to make the High Street desirable and the problem is that it is a busy main road/important bus route so i don't see how that will ever change. There does seem to be an impetus to improve the area. There are plans to build a new health centre just opposite the station which would be great and there is a new pub due to be opened (Knowles of Norwood) sometime this year. There aren't really any good/interesting restaurants but the Rosendale has recently been refurbished and there are some in West Dulwich which are nice.

I think there is still a problem with crime and the shootings that have occurred in the last year are seriously unpleasant. However, I'm not sure it is that much worse than other parts of London and I guess you have to have faith that gun crime will be eradicated over time although it may be a bumpy ride along the way.
 
WNAK said:
Not really sure what you want to hear...but here goes:

We moved to WN about a year ago and it is the first time we have lived in South London. We had some friends in Tulse Hill/West Norwood (not sure where the boundary is but they always said they were in Tulse Hill but now I think it is actually West Norwood) so knew the area to some degree. We have a house which looked like excellent value compared to other areas we had looked at. We live in a quietish residential part of WN about a 10 minute walk from the station and high street.

The transport links into central london are not bad at all. WN and TH train stations can get you pretty much anywhere and there are decent bus routes, especially the X68 (if you can get on it).

We have noticed a change in the year we have been here with things like the Feast once a month, couple of new shops opening on the High Street, like Blackbird Bakery, but there is still a long way to go to make the High Street desirable and the problem is that it is a busy main road/important bus route so i don't see how that will ever change. There does seem to be an impetus to improve the area. There are plans to build a new health centre just opposite the station which would be great and there is a new pub due to be opened (Knowles of Norwood) sometime this year. There aren't really any good/interesting restaurants but the Rosendale has recently been refurbished and there are some in West Dulwich which are nice.

I think there is still a problem with crime and the shootings that have occurred in the last year are seriously unpleasant. However, I'm not sure it is that much worse than other parts of London and I guess you have to have faith that gun crime will be eradicated over time although it may be a bumpy ride along the way.
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This is great stuff, thank you. If the plans to build the health and leisure centre go ahead, then I think that will have a positive impact - not just in providing a great resource for the community but also making that patch of green land into somewhere you'd want to visit. It's just dead space at the moment and probably space that many people don't know even exists, which is a shame as it's so close to the high street.

I saw the sign for Knowles the other day, but looking online I saw mention of it opening in 2009 so wasn't sure if it was still going ahead. But I think you're right about the high street - I don't think it'll change radically.

So, generally, your experience is that it's a safe area to live?
 
ianw said:
This is great stuff, thank you. If the plans to build the health and leisure centre go ahead, then I think that will have a positive impact - not just in providing a great resource for the community but also making that patch of green land into somewhere you'd want to visit. It's just dead space at the moment and probably space that many people don't know even exists, which is a shame as it's so close to the high street.

I saw the sign for Knowles the other day, but looking online I saw mention of it opening in 2009 so wasn't sure if it was still going ahead. But I think you're right about the high street - I don't think it'll change radically.

So, generally, your experience is that it's a safe area to live?
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I think that Knowles has had a number of delays...it was due to open earlier this year but I they found some structural problems which pushed things back a bit. According to the website it is due Winter 2011 http://www.knowlesofnorwood.com/.

The health and leisure centre would be a great addition and could even become a sort of focal point for the area. The plans look good and I think I read somewhere that they are due to start building early 2012. This is the website for it: http://www.lambeth.gov.uk/Services/Environment/Regeneration/FutureLambeth/NorwoodHall.htm

My experience so far has been that it is a safe area to live but you do hear reports of crimes. I haven't spent much time in and around the High Street at night (probably because there isn't anywhere I'd like to go to along it at night at the moment) except for the odd late night KFC so can't really comment too much on how safe it feels along there at night.
 
WNAK said:
except for the odd late night KFC so can't really comment too much on how safe it feels along there at night.
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That KFC had bullet holes in the window a year ago, (although KFC food probably kills more people than the gangsters).
 
Laughing Toad said:
That KFC had bullet holes in the window a year ago, (although KFC food probably kills more people than the gangsters).
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Yeah that reminds me...there is the west norwood 'snooker club' (i think it has about 2 tables) which seems to cause a lot of trouble because of its late night licensing - linked to the KFC shooting and the recent shooting/murder at the bus stop. There are plans to reduce its licensing hours but I'm not sure how far they have got.
 
Yeah, the local counsellor has asked the Lambeth Licence Committee to review the licence arrangements, apparently. Just going through now...
 
I am overjoyed to hear that the plans for the leisure centre are still on track. I had been following them for some time as a swimming pool right there would be incredibly convenient for me. Great news.
 
I love the Cemetery. Apart from having friends buried there, it's just a lovely place to be. Birds singing, mature trees, interesting monumental masonry, famous bods buried there (Mrs Beeton, for instance).
 
gaijingirl said:
I am overjoyed to hear that the plans for the leisure centre are still on track. I had been following them for some time as a swimming pool right there would be incredibly convenient for me. Great news.
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I don't agree. If Lambeth has the money to build a new indoor pool then it should adjoin the Brockwell Lido. The economies of scale would be massive, and it's only a 15 minute walk away from West Norwood. A combined indoor/outdoor pool would make it one of the best in South London. If the choice is between coucil sevices being better or closer then I want them better.
 
Laughing Toad said:
I don't agree. If Lambeth has the money to build a new indoor pool then it should adjoin the Brockwell Lido. The economies of scale would be massive, and it's only a 15 minute walk away from West Norwood. A combined indoor/outdoor pool would make it one of the best in South London. If the choice is between coucil sevices being better or closer then I want them better.
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It's considerably further than a 15 minute walk - I do this journey nearly every day. I would also be happy with an indoor pool adjoining the lido fwiw - I live much closer to the lido.. However, West Norwood could really do with a leisure centre/community centre (it's not just a leisure centre being planned). It might not be great news for you - but it's great news for West Norwood.
 
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