I ended up moving to Norwich House, because of the great transport links available within the vicinity of the development. Brixton is also close by, which is great for me. All was ok when I moved in, the lifts were working so it was easy to transport my things to my flat. The only difficulty was parking outside the development because it is on a main road.
I haven’t had much contact with the building’s management team as I haven’t had many issues as the building is well maintained and very clean. I have all their contact information if I need to contact them, however. We do have a reception area, which seems to only be open in the evenings between 4pm – 7pm during the week. It’s great as they collect your parcels and the staff are very willing to help with any issues. When I’ve needed to get a meter reading in my flat, they will open the door for me if I’m out. Also, when I first moved in, there wasn’t any CCTV in the building but now the security of the building has greatly improved, and I have CCTV in my hallway and understand this is the same for all floors.
When I first moved in I did have a few parcels stolen from outside my door and I do know of a couple of residents who have also reported particular incidents as well as issues with people trying to get into their flat as Norwich House is on a main road. There have also been issues with people being tailgated into the building. However, because of the added CCTV, these incidents are now less frequent.
In terms of my flat, my favourite room is the open plan living area, which includes a dining room and a kitchen area. I love it because it has large windows, so a lot of natural light gets let in. I would describe the interior as very simple with white décor, which works very well for me. It looks like small inside, but it is perfect for one person although I don’t have enough storage, which means I haven’t really been able to personalise my flat that much. I have separate large bathroom, which is white and has an adequate design.
I don’t see a lot of my neighbours and I haven’t for a long time. I’m not sure if all of the flats have residents in, particularly around me as it feels like they are empty. We do however have a Facebook and WhatsApp group chat, where lots of residents use to share concerns or post about any events they are hosting. There’s also a notice board in the entrance where residents can showcase their events.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
The location of Norwich House is perfect, and it is why I decided to move there. It is situated on a main road, which works for me for safety reasons, so I don’t have to walk through a lot of back streets to get home. My commute to work is great as Streatham Hill is only a 4-minute walk away with trains directly into Victoria station. It’s also on 40-50 minutes away on the bus with the bus stop right across the road.
We are fortunate to have most general shops in the area with a Tesco directly across the road and then an Aldi and a Lidl a little bit further on. If I wanted to go clothes shopping however, I would travel a bit more into Central London.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish I knew before moving in here that sometimes it gets really hot in the building, whereas in the winter it gets super cold which I think is sometime to do with the flat’s heating. One thing also worth noting is that when I first started renting, I would only have to pay for the electric and water bills but a couple of years into my tenancy, there was a bit of a dispute with eon, the gas provider and now we have to pay for gas as an additional charge.
What is the best feature of your home:
The best feature of my home are the big windows and sunlight
