SE23 Forum

Does anyone live in or near the Phoenix Works development near Forest Hill station? Just wondering what it's like, as I'm looking to move to the area and some flats have come up there that seem oddly cheap.

I suspect the reason they are commanding less than other nearby flats is purely because they are so near the rail line and potential buyers may be put off by that.

I'm a local landlord so I keep an eye on property along Dartmouth Road.

I also lived with my family for years above one of my shops along there. For the first few days, I thought I'd made a terrible mistake because of the noise of buses at the front and trains at the back, but after about a week we didn't notice it.

Flats are built along railway lines all the time and people are happily living in them, whether as tenants or homeowners, but I do get the argument that they are less attractive.

I don't have any specific knowledge about Phoenix Works even though I've always been aware of it (I remember it as an old storage yard), but it has always struck me as being surprisingly cheap for the location; and if there aren't any skeletons in its cupboard I'd suggest that flats there are really good value for money.

For comparison, even a 1-bed flat above a shop along Dartmouth Road sold for £370k in January 2024.

shame they didn't call it Phoenix nights, after the tv show

My grandmother once owned a house in Dover next to the A2 and the railway line. We soon got used to the noise. In those days lorries were not very powerful and had difficulty climbing steep hills. I suggest the location near a railway station and lots of bus routes is attractive.

Probably an OK place to live just as long as you can't hear the station announcements. Maybe 20 years I once spent an hour or so in the garden of a house backing on to Wimbledon railway station - even now I can't forget the near constant and repetitive drone.

Thank you all for the responses! We did wonder if the railway lines had something to do with it, although we hoped that given it's a relatively new building, it would be fairly soundproofed.

I think people were also concerned about the pub beside it but it has quietened down in recent years.