Kingston & Surbiton - any 'villagey' bits?

[jakesmith]

Hi all

I currently live in Richmond Hill & am looking to move out a bit to get more space & not live in a flat. I'm considering Surbiton, Hampton Wick & Kingston (need a fast regular train to London, Teddington too far out)

Can anyone tell me where in these areas I should go to look & see if there are any villagey bits, you know with gastropubs, independent bakers & shops, a nice community feel? You get that in the parade at the top of Richmond Hill & we love the relaxed feel of it.

Are looking at a few houses in North Kingston (by the park) tomorrow & the built environment is nice but doesn't seem to be any nice little parades of shops or pubs that do really good food (& don't have sky sports!)

Any suggestions welcomed... don't really want to leave where we are but I'm getting increasingly sensitive to noise & wouldn't mind somewhere to park the car off road too

Thanks

[jeremyc]

Surbiton has it in parts.

Look for Maple Road (or Maple Road Village as it has rebranded itself) - a smattering of independent shops and restaurants in amongst the Victorian town houses & squares.

Plenty of larger detached properties on the outskirts of Surbiton as well.

Finally, there are the 'river roads' which connect Maple Road to the Thames, full of very nice Victorian cottages.

[gt500nick]

surbiton has the best train line for london, they run more regularly and are quick at only 20 mins into london waterloo. property value gets you more for your money in surbiton as well, Richmond has all the nice stuff in way of shops and such. the surbiton high street is nothing special a few nice pubs and plenty of take aways. maple road is the nicest place with a quieter neighborhood. and you are so close to the river great for walking the dog or going for a run if your into that.

[JimmyJam]

Yep Maple Road area is nice. Note there is a new marina, housing development going on the riverside near that part starting in next few years. Looks nice but will of course create a lot of works in meanwhile. Thames Ditton is also nice a bit further down river. North Kingston is nice round the entrance to Richmond Park.

[Ej74]

Place such as Lower Sunbury and Laleham have that feeling !

[revvedup]

Hello, I have just started working in a company near Sunbury Upon Thames. Within my 500 pounds per month budget, my choices in the surrounding areas of Hampton,Shepperton, Walton, Norbiton and Kingston have been rather limited.

Any other areas that you folks would look into, that I might have missed ? Also any websites other than spareroom, that might be helpful ?

[JimmyJam]

revvedup said:

Hello, I have just started working in a company near Sunbury Upon Thames. Within my 500 pounds per month budget, my choices in the surrounding areas of Hampton,Shepperton, Walton, Norbiton and Kingston have been rather limited.

Any other areas that you folks would look into, that I might have missed ? Also any websites other than spareroom, that might be helpful ?

Try www.gumtree.com . Hersham is cheaper, tolworth, byfleet, addlestone

[Ej74]

For 500 you may have to go to Hanworth, Hayes, West Drayton, Feltham, Bedfont cheaper but nice areas in my opinion !

[kingston12]

As mentioned, the Maple Road part of Surbiton is about as 'villagey' as it gets in this area. It is very pleasant indeed for a part of suburban London, but the prices might make you think that you are a bit more central! Think £550k for a decent 2up-2down terraced house and £750k+ for a 3 bed semi. If you find anything much cheaper than that it is either on a main road or it is outside of the nice part of the area.

Thames Ditton is a proper village and a little bit cheaper, but you lose out on the fast train connection into town(35 minutes instead of 15-20) and having Kingston and all of those facilities on your doorstep.

Teddington is actually not that much further out than Hampton Wick, but I'd probably discount it on price anyway - nearer Richmond prices than Surbiton these days.

North Kingston has some nice parts around Richmond Park, but I am not sure that they are particularly villagey and the transport is not as good.

[kingston12]

JimmyJam said:

Yep Maple Road area is nice. Note there is a new marina, housing development going on the riverside near that part starting in next few years. Looks nice but will of course create a lot of works in meanwhile.

This got thrown out by the council again last week, 8-0 vote. It may still be built, but the appeals process will take ages. I wouldn't be too worried about the noise from the works, as if you are close enought to hear it the noise from Portsmouth Road will block it out. I'd suggest living at least halfway down one of the river roads where it is very quiet.

[JimmyJam]

kingston12 said:

JimmyJam said:

Yep Maple Road area is nice. Note there is a new marina, housing development going on the riverside near that part starting in next few years. Looks nice but will of course create a lot of works in meanwhile.

This got thrown out by the council again last week, 8-0 vote. It may still be built, but the appeals process will take ages. I wouldn't be too worried about the noise from the works, as if you are close enought to hear it the noise from Portsmouth Road will block it out. I'd suggest living at least halfway down one of the river roads where it is very quiet.

Thats a shame, I thought it looked quite good!

[kingston12]

JimmyJam said:

Thats a shame, I thought it looked quite good!

Me too! I can appreciate the environmental argument, but that site is just a disgrace at the moment sothey have to do something with it.

[slk 32]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

I would avoid Feltham like the plague (unless you like nylon sportswear and pram faces)

[Simon5]

+1 for the Maple Rd area of Surbiton, if budget allows take a look at St Andrews Square. It's quiet, with a nice green in the middle and beautiful Victorian houses. Plus, it's close to both Surbiton highest and the maple road shops/pubs/restaurants etc.

Good luck!

[kingston12]

Simon5 said:

+1 for the Maple Rd area of Surbiton, if budget allows take a look at St Andrews Square. It's quiet, with a nice green in the middle and beautiful Victorian houses. Plus, it's close to both Surbiton highest and the maple road shops/pubs/restaurants etc.

Good luck!

St Andrews Square is lovely, but I think it is all flats and the OP is looking for a house.

I keep an eye on the Maple Road area for houses from time to time, and they are scarce. There is a tiny cottage on Maple Road itself at the moment, but it is not really an ideal location as it is on the main road and next to an off licence.

It is best to be in one of the roads off of Maple Road itself. There appears to have been no houses whatsover on the market in these roads at all so far this year. The problem is that this is likely to have caused a bit of pent-up demand which might up the price a bit when one does finally come on to the market.