A guide to living in Borough of Kingston upon Thames

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The area is quiet and very safe!! The development is small compared to new build other huge estates but that does mean it has a really lovely, family friendly community here. Everyone I've met is very nice and welcoming. All the properties are very well maintained and people like to take care of their homes and the development. Having a great school (Tolworth Girls) and Tolworth Recreation centre on your doorstep is a massive bonus! Immediate access to the A3 is great also. More visitor parking on the development is needed. Aside from that more local shops, and public transport options would be nice, although there are shops on Red Lion Rd and more on Hook Rd. Tolworth Broadway is also a short walk away and has a good range of shops, restaurants and takeaways. You also have grreat access to Surbiton and Kingston town centre.

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

Becuase its kind of tucked away its nice, safe friendly family neighbourhod.

What is the best feature of your home:

Modern super well-insulated homes, mean cheap bills in the winter, however that also means they stay warm in the heatwaves.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Good: location & neighbors Bad: 1. No mobile signal in the room 2. Cracks on the wall become worse 3. The heating is central heating has faults components 4. Settlement issue - I have been once “locked” in the flat because ground settling issue. Unable to open the entrance door even it wasn’t locked. In the end, the locksmith had to lower all the door locks by 2 cm to get them working again, which shows just how serious the settlement problem is.

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

1. The HIU (central heating) actually had issues when I moved in. The control panel’s timer couldn’t actually stop the heat pump from running, which caused my heating bill to the landlord to be extremely high 2. And the washer/dryer was also not working. After a long time, my landlord finally agreed to replace it with a washer (without a drying function)… it was really quite frustrating.

What is the best feature of your home:

Quite Friendly concierge staff nothing nothing nothing else

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Living in this development has been a huge disappointment. To start, there is absolutely no parking available, which is unacceptable for a place like Tolworth that’s already far from the city. If you own a car or rely on driving, this is not the place for you. The rooms are shockingly tiny, far smaller than what was advertised. It feels cramped, and there's barely enough space to move around comfortably. On top of that, the windows are incredibly fragile. I can feel drafts coming in, and it doesn't help that they seem like they could break with the slightest pressure. I also had issues trying to install simple blinds—the walls are so flimsy that even a nail wouldn’t stick. It's as if the place was built as cheaply as possible, cutting corners everywhere. If you're thinking about moving here, I would strongly advise you to look elsewhere. This place is not worth the money, and the quality of living is far below standard. I’ve chosen to remain anonymous because I don't want to deal with any potential backlash from the management, who, based on past experiences, are unresponsive and could make matters even worse.

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

I wish I was told to stay away from this place before it was too late

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature in this area is nothing. Absolutely nothing

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Kingston East is a stone throw's away from groceries to restaurants to entertainment and still feels like you're not in a busy city.

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

Hmart which is like 5 minutes walk away which is perfect.

What is the best feature of your home:

I would say the best feature is the location as its near everything even Richmond park.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Kingston east is a haven for foodies as everything is within reach, Aldi and Matalan are also under a minute walk.

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

Parking is a bit difficult to come by as there isn't enough for everyone.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature of Kingston east for is it feels like a community.