A Guide to Living in South West London

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Housing association flats are made to a different and lesser standard to private flats and are much smaller, however they are cheaper to rent at about £265 a week, however this is very high compared to other housing association properties around London. Having visited a few apartments I’ve noticed they are are often awkwardly shaped with no thought to where television or sofas are going to be placed, however saying that the facilities provided are good, balcony decking, doors and windows, and blinds, ample kitchen cupboard space, underfloor heating, lino instead of carpet which is easier to clean than carpet heated towel rail, bathroom mirror and small utility cupboard to fit in a washer dryer . Of course, fittings such as oven fridge breakfast bar and full height style tiles were not included and bathrooms are decked in plain white tile. There has also been issues of flooding behind the walls in several properties and the apartments get very hot during the summer due to the triple glazing, however the heating rarely gets put on during the winter saving money.
Residents are generally good but sometimes litter has been left in the lift and as HA tenants can’t use concierge facilities parcels are often left in the communal entry area. Sometimes people taking bins out has resulted in smelly liquid being left in the lift and trailing out the door however this is not often. Community is good unlike comments made by private tenants above most residents have got to know each other especially those with children attending st mary’s school downstairs. Balconies also have windows on them which is a good safety feature for those with children and all windows in apartments are lockable. Paragon housing association which manages the flats are hit and miss but often good and problems can also be reported to savills as they still manage the block
A colorful light tribute to the tram lines which once adorned the grounds has been installed in the arch going out onto Queenstown road. Bike store is good.
Children’s play areas are minimal however, a strange raised grass v verge and the area outside of it is touted as a play space however it is also an unofficial road and takeaway motorbikes zoom up and down the development all times of the day and night delivering food which is dangerous. The communal gardens aren’t maintained well when a tree was felled due to strong wings it wasn’t replaced and the space where it once was looks sparce in its absence. Some grasses flowers and bushes would look beautiful but instead there is just plain soil with a scattering of plant life.
The design outside mercer house also turns it into a wind tunnel even in light winds and this should have been taken into account during the design stage, the small trees planted suffer greatly during the winds, it would have been better to plant bigger trees with more bush as aesthetically they look better and can stand the wind more. The other trees on site seem to be a bit bare, and have not taken to their new homes.

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

Nothing as I’ve always known the local area since a child

Please review your development:

The prices at this development may be cheaper than other developments in the area but that is for a good reason. There are many construction related design issues, the building standards are lower here.

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

No street parking permits offered by the council for the residents of this building, except social housing residents which make up 1/3 of the units. The football pitches near the buildings are always full, they make a lot of noise even later in the evening. The flats were not designed to allow central AC system to be put in place and they do not allow any changes to the outside of the flat, even for HVAC unit.

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

The building management is a nightmare. The concierge is trying to cope with Amazon packages for 290 units as well as constantly faulty communal utilities. They get very little support from Savills or Taylor Wimpey. The development did not have central hot water for days this week and that is not the 4 times this year.. There is blame game between Taylor Wimpey and the building manager, Savills.

Please review your development:

Wandsworth has always been a desirable location, and the addition of the now completed Ram Quarter development by Greenland has further enhanced the area, incorporating an exciting new retail and residential destination.

The architect of Ram Quarter, EPR Architects, has seamlessly brought together modern architecture and the development’s listed heritage past; Coopers’ Lofts sits comfortably amongst the new-build apartments. Many apartments offer private roof gardens and all residents benefit from a 24 hour concierge.

Although a residential-led development, the recent commercial openings have really come into their own. Backyard Cinema is a huge draw and it’s very exciting that Sambrook’s Brewery will open at Ram Quarter within the next few months.

Transport connections are good – I can reach Ram Quarter from my office in Oxford Circus within 25 minutes. Also on-site parking is available for purchase.

It is always fantastic to see developments realise their potential and Ram Quarter is certainly demonstrating that large mixed-use developments, designed well, with a carefully curated retail and leisure offering, really make a new-build apartment a home.

Please disclose any commercial relationship to this development or developer:

Acting as development consultant and sales agent