EUSSR wrote:"Though I hope not to be entirely engulfed by 'young professionals'."
yeah...would be terrible if all those young people and their money came to the area and started spending it in local businesses...perish the thought !...
I think the key word there was 'entirely' - so for example Balham will have, to accommodate young professionals, squeezed out non-young professionals. Thus much of the area's character is damaged. I don't want to speak for him, but I don't think he was bemoaning any young professionals.
Thank you Rod for succinctly explaining what I intended.
Stuart (who was once young, professional and helped to start the rot in Balham, my first home in London).
Willy wrote:The signs are there that the hipsters are moving in...it has a shop called Debris ("scattered pieces of rubbish or remains") which always makes me laugh when I see it
I quite like Debris, like the antique places in Crystal Palace, Hastings, Rye etc. I wouldn't say it's junk, it's interesting old stuff that looks like it's been used.
I don't know if anyone else has seen it but Sydenham has featured in Homes & Property again today. They made the area sound very nice and well, not tatty at all.
"Sydenham, the high-lying south-east London district, has a spring in its step, energised by the Overground extension through its leafy terrain. The land rises steeply from well-heeled Dulwich before reaching Crystal Palace, whose splendid park is encircled by handsome Victorian villas and wide avenues..." Then goes on to talk about the Lawrie Park Place development (£1m+ per house), Well Park Place £550k-1.4m and Dylon Works.
I wonder how long the likes of Caffe Nero stop considering Sydenham "tatty" and see opportunity? Investment has to start somewhere
In my opinion two words sum up perfectly why Sydenham is considered aire non grata, ROLF HARRIS!! The newspapers will insist on labelling this antipodean scoundrel as 'Sydenham's Rolf Harris! I have written to numerous publications demanding they cease forthwith linking our lovely little town with a convicted felon, yet to receive a reply!!!!
very interesting reading and thank you for all your comments.
Who ever wrote drink more water I don't think really got the point!!
Personally I would like to see more independent places, like on the hoof or blue mountin but with the high rent going in Sydenham as I looked myself to open a coffe shop couple of years back, I can see why people don't take the chance hence me calling big chain like caffe nero.
I was driving through Crystal Palace last night and again new coffe shop opened and the horrible pub on the junction opposite the market place is now in hands for consultation.
I moved from Se23 to Se26 for a bigger house a better value and truly believed in the area (2009) but very little has moved since then and I feel the locals don't want the changes and happy to stay that way. East Dulwich is a good example of how the area from been dodgy has become very affluent and expensive.
Sydenham has better house, large high street, great parks, great connection but yet didn't make compare to CP, East Dul, Peckam which is ever more trendy than Dalston??? I would not like to see myself coing out in the night at Peckam station.
I have been reading about opinion for the empty coop to be an Aldi, I would suggest more a Marks and S as perceived more quality, in fact the Caffe Nero representative said if a Marks would be in Se26 potentially Nero could revise his position.
What scare me is that people aim for low, we have already budget supermarket like lidl why an other one ???Frankly too many supermarkets!!
if better shop in Sydenham more locals would spend money on the high street oppose to drive to se22, BR, se21 or Se19.
Thanks
No, I think people feel Sydenham is a dump because of all the pound shops, betting shops, nail bars, empty shops, and the eyesore at Cobbs Corner that some people want to block development for.
Sydenham feels a dump not because of no chains, but because of empty, derelict premises, cheap fried chicken shops, nail bars, run-down messy and unpleasant streets, etc. I have no desire for big chains except insofar as they indicate a willingness of someone to invest in this area. The fact they don't suggests they think there is no prospect that there will be a clientele here even for mid-market merchandise. That's depressing. Where I previously lived people orotested chains because of the excellent range of independent businesses, boutiques, restaurants, etc. If we had that here now I would not be eager for a Nero or a Nando's. But we don't, and those we do have are often snuffed out, as in Fig and Pistachio being for ed by its landlord to close.
From Mr. Taylor and others I get a sense of resentment at anyone new with different tastes moving in, including someone like me who moved three years ago from a much more prosperous area of north London in hopes that this area would improve. It never will if Lewisham drags its feet and listens to people who resent any improvement because it represents change.
appletree wrote:Sydenham feels a dump not because of no chains, but because of empty, derelict premises, cheap fried chicken shops, nail bars, run-down messy and unpleasant streets, etc. I have no desire for big chains except insofar as they indicate a willingness of someone to invest in this area. The fact they don't suggests they think there is no prospect that there will be a clientele here even for mid-market merchandise. That's depressing. Where I previously lived people orotested chains because of the excellent range of independent businesses, boutiques, restaurants, etc. If we had that here now I would not be eager for a Nero or a Nando's. But we don't, and those we do have are often snuffed out, as in Fig and Pistachio being for ed by its landlord to close.
From Mr. Taylor and others I get a sense of resentment at anyone new with different tastes moving in, including someone like me who moved three years ago from a much more prosperous area of north London in hopes that this area would improve. It never will if Lewisham drags its feet and listens to people who resent any improvement because it represents change.
Hello Appletree, Wheni moved here Sydenham had the potential to be the next Streatham or at a push Brixton. Not as twee as forest hill or East Dulwich but with good property stock nice parks and a good mix of people from all walks of life. There seems to be a complete lack of ambition for the area although I must say my street is now being swept for the first time in 15years!
I don't know why the gas holders are grabbing the attention of the protesters when the whole high street needs to be upgraded. I can think of one other area in Zone 3 which hasn't changed dramatically in the past decade. We pay the same council tax as Deptford, Catford and Lewisham residents but we definitely don't get the same level of investment. It's outrageous.
syd wrote:Wheni moved here Sydenham had the potential to be the next Streatham or at a push Brixton. Not as twee as forest hill or East Dulwich but with good property stock nice parks and a good mix of people from all walks of life. There seems to be a complete lack of ambition for the area although I must say my street is now being swept for the first time in 15years!
Hello Syd and Appletree.
I just want to point out: we have a difference of opinion, no more, no less.
Syd likes Streatham and feels Sydenham would be improved if it were more like Streatham. I disagree with Syd. I dislike Streatham profoundly - its chain ubiquity and ring-road blandness is something I wouldn't wish upon Sydenham. Streatham doesn't feel well-healed, it feels naff. If you want Sydenham to be like Brixton and Streatham why didn't you move to Brixton or Streatham, Syd?
I'm not sure why I'm accused so often of a lack of ambition for essentially disagreeing about the direction of SE26. I'd like to see all sorts here - all of it way more ambitious than a branch of Cafe Nero.
There's another trope that gets trotted out: something along the lines of 'no wonder businesses don't want to invest here?
Ok Rod, Im just giving examples of comparable areas and ask why is Lewisham Council letting us down. Streatham isn't well heeled and never will be and I like that, I prefer somewhere mixed.
Catford Deptford, Honor Oak, Forest Hill, Brockley and even New Cross have seen great improvements this century. Sydenham has had no major investments and I see that as a big problem and I'm asking what are they doing with my council tax.
Tell me Rod if you were god for a day what changes would you make here?
Rod ...you Sa say you'd like to see all sorts here way more ambitious than Neros...interested to know your thoughts and apologies if you have given them previously and I have missed them
SE23life is fairly new , it's still riding the wave of optimism and enthusiasm.
Give it time and it will inevitably decend into the moanfest and trolling that most forums end up being! The East Dulwich Forum for example is a joke sometimes...
We have a number of good independent businesses in Sydenham who are very rarely mentioned or championed on here. With what seems like the majority of posters referring to Sydenham as a dump.
Did you spot that @thebookshop appeared today on the front page as it was it's 51st birthday - congrats to arguably our finest independent business.
If other fine businesses are not appearing on this website - whose responsibility is this?
The majority of posters think Sydenham a dump? Are you sure?
I think you will find the person with the inkwa problem is from Forest Hill. But then worrying about views of someone who has difficulty distinguishing Adolf Hitler from Jeremy Corbyn is something you need to think about.
Would you prefer censorship or ridicule?
Let's be serious about this. Kirkdale Bookshop is an excellent business. So it Trat Raff, so is Sugahill, so is Syd DIY. Has anyone of those ever had a bad review here? I can't remember one. And if there was then there would be a response. Just as there was with Inkwa.
People respect excellence. Good businesses also know how to deal and use criticism whether justified or not. That's part of what a good business is.
The Poodle Club? There is history there that hurt some people. If it turns out to be a great business then that, hopefully, can be put behind it. But hurt feelings can work both ways.
So... I know that social media of all sorts, including online fora, encourage criticism and bickering and all sorts of frustration. But it's Sunday night, and I and a whole lot of other people are back to work tomorrow. So here is something positive in the midst of the disappointment.
My partner and I moved to Sydenham from East Dulwich just over a year ago. We originally came to London because of my work, and we moved to East Dulwich to find somewhere we could afford to rent, with trees and greenery, and some kind of cultural life. There's plenty of good to be said for ED, but I also found it to be very excluding - I never felt wealthy enough to fit in. Which in itself is a laughable thing - I'm extremely fortunate for everything I have.
In the year that we've lived here in Sydenham, we've come to know more people in the community than we did in the previous three that we lived in ED. I can get into Central London more quickly and easily than I ever could before. And yes, Sydenham sometimes looks a bit grubby; yes it has pound shops and takeaways and betting shops, but you know what? It also has everything I need. A wonderful independent bookshop; a delightful wine shop with staff so friendly they've become good friends of mine; a really lovely restaurant cum wine bar with delicious things to eat and drink; several great places for breakfast or lunch; a hardware store where I can find things I need to stock my home; a good butchers/fishmongers; a health food store that stocks fresh bread; a stationery shop; a post office (seriously rare in these straitened times); most banks that I could name; a pet shop; a decent pub; proximity to gorgeous parks, and one of London's very few 50m swimming pools. Catch the High Street on a sunny day and it looks stunning. There is life and verve in Sydenham. It has history. It has life. Of course it isn't as gentrified as Forest Hill or ED or Crystal Palace, but that is why we were able to move here in the first place. I don't want to compare it to anywhere else. It's where I have my home. I believe in it.
