Londoners are flocking to this ‘bustling’ neighbourhood 10 miles from the centre

Londoners cognize each excessively good that it’s thing but casual to find determination to rent here, and for galore of us, owning a property is simply a beauteous intolerable pipe dream.

Now, caller information has revealed the London neighbourhoods wherever rents person accrued the astir successful the past 12 months – and successful the apical spot was 1 South London hub. It mightiness beryllium successful Zone 4, and it mightiness beryllium 10 miles from the metropolis centre, but it remains endlessly ‘bustling.’

Thornton Heath is arguably astir celebrated for its proximity to the BRIT School, the performing arts and exertion instauration that has a database of alumni including Amy Winehouse, Adele, Rizzle Kicks, and RAYE.

And immoderate grime euphony instrumentality volition cognize that it’s besides the location of Stormzy, arsenic he’s referenced the country aggregate times successful tracks including Wicked Stengman Part 4.

But, according to caller information from Rightmove, Thornton Heath is rapidly becoming steadily much expensive. Between 2024 and 2025, the country saw a 14% year-on-year summation successful rental prices – the largest of immoderate country successful London.

Following down was Harlesden successful the borough of Brent, Greenford successful Ealing, and Barnes successful Richmond upon Thames, each astatine 12% respectively.

Meanwhile, Biggin Hill successful Bromley, Bayswater successful Westminster, and East Finchley successful Barnet person each seen increases of 11%.

‘While caller tenants are inactive paying much than they were astatine this clip past year, the gait of maturation continues to slow,’ Rightmove’s Colleen Babock said of the data.

‘However, though this is the large representation of marketplace activity, agents connected the crushed inactive archer america that the marketplace is precise hot, and immoderate areas person improved much than others erstwhile it comes to the proviso and request balance.

‘Our ain information shows that the mean rental spot is inactive receiving 10 applications per property, which is little than the peak, but inactive treble the pre-pandemic norm.’

Things to bash successful Thornton Heath

When it comes to architecture, Thornton Heath is celebrated for its Victorian buildings – arsenic seen successful the St Paul’s Church and St Alban’s Anglican. There’s besides the newer Clocktower, recovered connected the junction betwixt the precocious thoroughfare and Parchmore Road.

The consciousness of section assemblage is beardown too, epitomised by the Thornton Heath Community Action Team, founded successful 2014 to present section projects to amended the area. So far, they’ve established a gardening club, arsenic good arsenic the Thornton Heath Art Trail.

If you’re into committee games, you’ll beryllium gunning for a sojourn to The Ludoquist, a committee crippled café barroom offering a whopping 1,400 committee games alongside trade brew and java produced by Volcano, an instauration celebrated among South Londoners.

And if football’s your thing, a travel to Selhurst Park Stadium, the location of premier league nine Crystal Palace, is essential. There’s besides AFC Croydon Athletic, famously co-owned by 2 section legends: Stormzy and erstwhile Crystal Palace subordinate Wilfried Zaha.

What locals are saying astir Thornton Heath

As for the locals’ position connected Thornton Heath, Redditor @EarlessAgeratum was calved and raised successful the country and has lived determination for the past 29 years.

In their view, portion Thornton Heath mightiness person its ain issues, you’d beryllium ‘hard-pressed to find an affordable country of London that doesn’t person a estimation for crime.’

‘Croydon Council has besides made efforts to put successful the country to marque it much presentable, and you’re much apt to find discount shops and inexpensive takeaway places than autarkic java shops and trendy bars,’ they add, noting that ‘not much’ has changed astir Thornton Heath successful their lifetime.

‘It has its problems and decidedly isn’t polished but it isn’t boring either. It’s multicultural and bustling.’

Meanwhile, @OpelFruitDaze made the determination to determination to Thornton Heath 4 years agone arsenic Dulwich was becoming progressively expensive.

‘We wanted much abstraction for the kids. We’re successful a quiescent residential street, person a plot and bully neighbours. [We] truly can’t complain,’ they wrote successful different Reddit thread.

‘Thornton Heath has a estimation but moving present was 1 of the champion things we did.’

House prices successful Thornton Heath

Characterised by agleam greenish trams, Boxpark and a monolithic Ikea, successful January 2024, Croydon was really crowned the most affordable location for location hunters successful London, with probe from Zoopla indicating that you tin get connected the ladder for arsenic small arsenic £76,000 successful a shared-ownership home.

And so, it’s small astonishment that it’s looking similar 1 to ticker successful the London spot satellite – adjacent if the rents are dilatory becoming much expensive.

Data from Rightmove reveals that, implicit the past year, the mean selling terms for properties successful Thornton Heath much specifically was £396,996 – considerably cheaper than the emblematic London house, which present rests astatine a whopping £686,817.

‘It’s shedding its aged representation arsenic conscionable a commuter hub, with tech start-ups and originative businesses breathing caller beingness into the area,’ spot adept Sue Iluc, laminitis of Courtyard Holiday Apartments and self-described ‘designer vacation fto lady’ antecedently told Metro of the area.

‘On apical of that, determination are large plans to overhaul the municipality centre, making it much charismatic to radical looking for a premix of affordability and metropolis access.’

And, according to Zoopla’s country guide, Thornton Heath offers ‘affordable surviving successful a modern municipality situation that inactive retains suburban charm, combined with large schools and awesome transport links to cardinal London.’

So, portion the rents mightiness beryllium going up, there’s inactive plentifulness to beryllium optimistic astir erstwhile it comes to the buyer’s market.

Transport links successful Thornton Heath

Now, Thornton Heath mightiness technically be successful Zone 4 but it’s inundated with speedy links into cardinal London.

There’s a nonstop bid to London Bridge which takes 36 minutes, passing done the likes of Tulse Hill, North Dulwich, Peckham Rye and South Bermondsey.

Likewise, West Croydon is located connected the Windrush Line Overground, which was precocious renamed to honour the Windrush procreation of immigrants, galore of whom person settled successful the area.

And successful the satellite of buses, the 250 connects Croydon Town Centre and Brixton, portion the 450 runs from Lower Sydenham to West Croydon.

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