I am also a FH Lifer, but I can remember my mother and her friends describing Forest Hill as "more like a village" back in the late 70s and early 80s. It is something that was special about Forest Hill back then and something we have lost a bit of in recent years (just like villages across the country). Now with more shops, restaurants, and pubs that people want to go to, a healthy Internet forum, a coffee shop, and the Forest Hill Society, we can become more of a community again. This should not be a village where outsiders feel excluded, we should welcome people to the area. Newcomers are not destroying the area, they are helping us to revitalise the area. The new flats in the town centre will significantly improve the numbers of people using local shops and help to keep them open for everybody in the area.

People may come because it is fashionable (not that I really think this is happening), but they stay because of the nice area and the nice people. I welcome the people who have been here for a couple of years and feel part of the community.