A Guide to Living in Deptford

If you haven’t yet heard of Deptford, chances are you will very soon. Artists, students, first-time buyers and lifelong Londoners; they gather in this exciting district, which has become as cool and sought-after as places like Peckham and Hackney. Read on to discover developments that are the best places to live in Deptford. In addition, read reviews from residents who own or rent in Deptford.

4.37

Average Location Score

Excellent

49%

Very Good

39%

Average

10%

Disappointing

Very Poor

Best places to live in Deptford

HomeViews Top Rated Development ranking takes into account the Star Rating and HomeViews Transparency Rating of every development in the area

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Where is Deptford?

Deptford is on the south Bank of the River Thames, a little way between historical Greenwich and bohemian Bermondsey. It shares many parallels with its neighbours – including a rich maritime heritage and a cornucopia of age-old pubs and hipster-friendly eateries. But it’s got an identity all of its own all the same.

Deptford big-hitters

Deptford High Street is regarded as one of London’s liveliest. The start of it’s marked by a giant, lopsided anchor (it was the first of the Royal Docks). Its quarter-mile stretch is home to a stunningly beautiful Baroque church and a great selection of Vietnamese restaurants, butchers and pie and mash shops. Its street market is old-school Eastend at its best. Completely devoid of organic juices and sour dough – this is noisy, wonderful bric-a-brac territory.

Not far from the high street is Deptford Market Yard – a cluster of independent stores and restaurants, huddled beneath the railway arches of Deptford station. Little Nan’s is a much-loved cocktail bar where the tipples are served in teapots. And the area is often playing host to pop-up events like art exhibitions. Speaking of which, Deptford is a hotspot for creatives, thanks to its plentiful studios, galleries and the esteemed Albany Theatre.

Deptford was named after its creek, and its Creekside Discovery Centre is a great place to take little ones. The district is also home to a handful of parks, including Brookmill Park and Deptford Park – the latter sprawls over 17 acres and boasts a children’s playground and a picnic seating spot.

New developments in Deptford

Deptford’s surge in popularity has resulted in a multitude of new apartments and houses. First-time buyers, especially, are loving Anthology’s Deptford Foundry. This smart new-build teams stylish, contemporary apartments with a selection of artists’ studios – all built on the site of an old metal foundry. Rated one of the best places to live in Deptford.

“The concierge is really helpful and will accommodate any requests you may have. Overall, there aren’t any aspects which I can think of which would have improved the buying experience. Thank you Anthology, for making my first property purchase a special one!” – Ben, verified resident at Deptford Foundry

“Georgia and the rest of the team made the buying experience stress free and extremely positive. As a first time buyer, they were always helpful with any queries I had, and the communication throughout the process has been excellent. The development itself is really well done, and I am extremely happy with the apartment. I couldn’t have asked for a better experience or team to help me with buying my first home.” – Ryan F, verified resident at Deptford Foundry

Union Wharf is an upcoming new-build from Build to Rent pioneer, Essential Living. Its twin towers have nabbed a prime setting overlooking Deptford Creek, and will house one, two and three-bedroom apartments. A great place to rent in Deptford!

Transport

Deptford has no Underground station to speak of, but its Zone 2 location means it’s still well-connected. From Deptford station, commuters can reach London Bridge in less than 10 minutes, Farringdon in under 20 and King’s Cross in 23. Deptford Bridge and Elverson Road are other alternatives, both of which offer direct services to Canary Wharf.

With its edgy credentials and handy London links, it’s no surprise it is having a moment in the spotlight. And while the developers are moving in thick and fast, it shows no signs of losing the character and charm it’s known for.

You can find out more about living in the Deptford by reading reviews from residents. Click on the developments below to find out more about residents’ experiences and discover the best places to live and rent in Deptford. Moreover, If there’s a Deptford property that you can’t see on HomeViews, you can add a new listing and leave your review here

Featured developments in Deptford

Reviews in Deptford

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Good property

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

There is no essentials shop “around the corner”. Transp link is good. Not noisy despite close trains

Please review your development:

Built well, materials are good. Kitchen furniture is of proper quality. Property Caretaker is super, he was helpful when I was moving from one flat into another in the Faircharm dock.
EBI : 1) concierge service would be helpful
2) after renovation of the lift the security level went down.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

It is not easy to escalate problems immediately

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Caretaker is vey helpful, he is trying to help at every occasion.

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Manager Response

Thank you so much for your positive review. We really appreciate you taking some time to share your experience with us.
We’re delighted to hear how happy you are in your home and neighborhood.
Much appreciated and thanks again!
Customer Service Team

Pretty greenhouse next to the DLR

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

The area is great and very well connected to central London and London City Airport. Both Deptford and Greenwich are just a short walk away and have much to offer. The development is right next to the DLR, so it is quite noisy and sleeping with windows open is not an option.

Please review your development:

The development is fairly new and had a lot of teething issues. Most of them have been resolved in the meanwhile, but there are still quite a few issues such as permanently broken front door, regularly failing heating system, and regularly defective lifts. As a result of the broken front door, we had a staggering number of parcel thefts in the building and L&Q is doing nothing to resolve the issue. There are also a few tenants renting out their flats on AirBnB, which are then used by people for rather large parties (during lockdown). This issue is still going on and many tenants are pretty fed up about the fact that L&Q is doing nothing to stop this from happening. The design is pretty standard “modern” looking. Nothing special but not bad.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The DLR is much louder than I perceived it during our viewing. Also, during summer, the south facing flats get insanely hot. It’s like a greenhouse.

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

Install some kind of cooling system. It get’s insanely hot in the flats – they are like a greenhouse. The upside of this is that we barely need to turn on the heating during winter, but in the summer it’s often around 40 degrees in the flat.

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Manager Response

Thank you for your review. We appreciate your feedback.
We’re sorry to hear your experience hasn’t been wholly positive. We would like to know more and help to put things right.
Please contact us at lqdirect@lqgroup.org.uk (with Homeviews in the subject line) and a dedicated agent will do their best to help resolve any concerns.
Thanks
Customer Service Team

Overall a great place to live and a lovely area!

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

Deptford is a great place to live. There are local amenities, bars, pubs, theatres and transport links within easy walking distance. Train and DLR not loud at all. Parking is expensive on the development and put me off bringing my car.

Please review your development:

Design is okay. The wide hallways are great. The windows feel dangerous because they open at waist height. The kitchen surfaces could be a nicer finish. Inside walls need to be thicker. Property management is difficult to get in contact with and takes long periods to deal with issues. We were disappointed to find that there was no window cleaning service for us on the 11th floor (FAR to dangerous to reach and do it ourselves). When property management does arrive to solve problems they are fantastic. Maybe residents also need more guidance on correct bin use?

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The thickness of the walls.

What is the best feature of your home:

The absolutely incredible and unobstructed views of the whole of London. Not seen a view like it.

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Modern apartments in well connected area

Verified Resident

Review Date Apr 2021

There are plenty of shops around including supermarkets less than 10min walk. Greenwich park is about 10/15min walk.

Very close to Deptford station, but also well served by both Greenwich and Deptford Bridge DRL stations. Depford station doesn’t work on Sunday, so you have to use New Cross station which is about a 13min walk. Bus stops less than 5 minutes walk. No tube stations nearby.

It’s not really very safe, to be honest.
Parking is scarce.
Bin collections are ok.
There is someone in the building that rents to AirBnB and there are constant parties, L&Q knows about it and we don’t see much improvement.
We have constant thefts of parcels left in the lobby by delivery services.
One of the buildings is only a few meters away from the DLR, so there is constant noise, minimised by good windows.

Please review your development:

The buildings are nicely designed, with large lobbys and good looking from the outside. The hallways could be better.

The apartments are spacious and have plenty of storage. The bathroom is all tiled, with a big bathtub and a nice, clean design.

The building management is nothing special, the hallways are often dirty, but unfortunately that is more testament of how people behave than the cleaning itself. The front door breaks all the time unfortunately and it tends to spend a few days life that before it’s fixed. Very hard to reach the building manager, so I always end up going to the property manager unfortunately.

Property management is more responsive and does act on emergencies like no hot water or flood, but always multiple people have to report a fault before they do anything at all which is quite frustrating. If something happens on a weekend and is not incredibly serious/threatening, it will have to wait until Monday.
They have increased the prices of the apartments even during the pandemic, with all the prices in the area going down with the excuse that the contractors process were going up. We have seen no reflection on improvement here whatsoever.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Lots of light in the apartment. Nice looking decoration, very well connected with lots of alternative routes in case something is blocked. Lots of funny wildlife in the canals, we see ducks and swans very often. Greenwich is only a few minutes walk away.

Some of the materials used for construction are low grade. The blinds used are very, very easy to break as they are very low quality plastic.
The area is not the safest.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Poorly. They are very hard to get hold of. Our heating is incredibly expensive and nobody seems to be able to give an answer as to why. The above mentioned parties still happen.

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