A guide to living in Borough of Lewisham

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

Lewisham is great, and this building is very close to Lewisham Station. There’s a big Tesco next door and a nearby mall. It feels safe. However, as a busy area, there is noise from trains and sirens.

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

Yep, I can raise requests easily through the online residents portal. Junior the maintenance guy has also given me his mobile number and he’s super helpful-l!

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

It gets very hot in the summer. The flats unfortunately aren’t built with air conditioning, despite being a modern building. Because of the high-rise structure and floor-to-ceiling windows, the flats get a lot of sun exposure all day, resulting in very stuffy interior temperatures during the hot months.

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

Great location, lots of travelling connections Near to bars, cafes and supermarket options Right next to a park and not far from Deptford Park On street parking outside not allocated Some antisocial behaviour but nothing more than London average Highly recommend the area

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

Previously raised issues on the security of the bike storage and it felt like pressure was needed for the team to take it seriously. The postboxes have been pending repair for over a year

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

Check your doors to the garden are working our a commitment of when they will be fixed

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

The local area is exceptionally poor in a variety of shops, whilst the only two small off-licence shops on Dorset Road are open over limited hours. A number of shops on Dorset Road close to the junction with Kibworth Street were shut down a few years ago as a result of local authority compulsory order for the redevelopment of the site. Despite the regeneration plan also including some shops, their construction and availability to private businesses is years away. Additionally, the LTN scheme that was imposed by the local authority some years ago, banning all motor vehicles access through Clapham Road as a "rough and ready” and easily implemented measure has become a constant source of stress and frustration to many residents and is damaging local businesses alike. The scheme falls short of addressing the problems that the ban of access to and from Clapham Road has generated for motor vehicle users who live or have business associations within the area. Residents and services providers are forced to access our homes or business only through South Lambeth Road having to endure unnecessary stress and anxiety as a result of additional traffic and driving time, including an increased risk of road accidents, through busy Vauxhall and Harleyford Road that is frequently jammed. Not only because we can no longer access our homes through Clapham Road but also because we can no longer access our nearest convenience stores Lidl and Tesco - unless of course we embark on a tour around Vauxhall and Kennington or Stockwell and Clapham North in pursuit of a turn back to Clapham Road.

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

Yes, but slowly and often well overdue. Services must be provided with reasonable care and skill, which unfortunately is not the case with NHG management. Any apology or other redress offered as an admission of bad service received is undoubtedly void if there is no record of improvement.

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

The merger between NHHT and Genesis that signalled an ever-deteriorating level of service quality and value for money.

What is the best feature of your home:

Its interior design and decoration give a positive note to the otherwise negative aspects of living in the area.

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

Very local to my family, good transportation links A wide vertical of shops, tea and bars also very local gyms

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

The process to transfer is impossible were very over crowded and nothing is done about damp

What is the best feature of your home:

What I have done to it, decor The flats can be done up nice but this is constantly ruined by damp and mould

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

Very well linked area, the building is close to the station and to the high street, with many stores around including supermarkets, delis, butchers, and a small shopping centre. Lewisham isn’t the safest area at times, and while convenient, the neighbourhood can feel busy and noisy. Overall, the location is practical for transport and shopping, but the surrounding environment may not suit everyone.

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

When it comes to maintenance in the flat they have an efficient system in place that allows you to book for maintenance and they will arrange for someone to come and have a look even on the following working day. I have personally requested some minor work to be done in the flat and it was promptly arranged. As previously mentioned, for major issues, management can be quite slow to act. In the case of the hot water disruptions, for example, the emails I received suggest that several layers of internal approvals and coordination with multiple stakeholders were required before action could be taken, including consent from the Board of Directors. While I understand that some bureaucracy is unavoidable for large-scale works, it still meant that tenants were left without hot water for extended periods. Furthermore, during my tenancy, the development stopped charging the fixed £80 monthly fee for heating and hot water on 1 May 2025. According to their process, they should have carried out a reconciliation of our individual meter usage, but I never received any such reconciliation. The last communication I received from management regarding this was on 1 September 2025, in which they stated that some reconciliations had not been issued due to system errors and that they were working with their team to resolve the issue. I moved out on 29 October 2025, and despite the passage of several months, no reconciliation or update was ever provided, leaving me uncertain about any outstanding charges or adjustments.

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

Good: Pretty good variety of shops around, and good location in terms of distance from the station. Bad: Many things including the quality of the flat, security, noise, and everything else I have pointed out above.