This is the second Fizzy apartment we’ve lived in and plan to stay settled here for the next couple of years. The Poplar location in particular is well located with dozens of transport links and Bartlett Park quite literally on the doorstep. The Poplar Union sits just opposite the park offering in-house roasted coffee and baked goods, plus 2 performance studios for live music, yoga, rehearsals and more. A superb space to work in for those who work remotely and great for families with a warm and welcoming feeling.

Fizzy pride themselves on being the ultimate pet-friendly landlord and this is true with their well stocked pet stations at the building’s entrance. This year, there was even a Christmas hamper left for all the furry friends to join in the festive fun. So nice and thoughtful.

The Poplar site has great concierge services so that you never miss a parcel (and if you do then you know its safe) and an on-site residents gym; a relatively well equipped work-out zone to keep active. A new outdoor gym, dog-walking area and accessible playground are planned for development in the neighbouring Bartlett park making this an even more exciting place to want to live for tenants of any kind.

Fizzy also throw great icebreakers and get-togethers for the residents, further developing the atmosphere that makes its residents want to stay so long. Many of the people we’ve met in the building have been there for several years and are so happy they don’t plan on moving any time soon. I’m confident that we fall into this bracket as well!

We’ve loved our Fizzy experience and expect that we shall continue to for the foreseeable. Highly recommended.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Fizzy Poplar boasts superb amenities, great transport links, access to shopping and green spaces. The only downside is that once you get onto the street outside of the development, the quality drop is immediately evident. There is a big problem with persistant dog fouling on the pavement as well as dozens of laughing gas canisters often littering the street. This has nothing to do with Fizzy as such, but is still a bit of a pain nonetheless.

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

On-street parking around the area is very limited, as is the underground parking.

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

That renting car parking spaces from the train station is cheaper and that living on the train side is actually quieter than facing the street with a balcony.

3

Facilities

1

Design

4

Location

3

Value

5

Management

Then there’s the general malaise and disdain that management gave me in trying to help resolve my problems. I didn’t have internet for nearly a week (management was supposed to set it up), and the solution provided was that I fix the problem myself, except the issue was they never registered my apartment. My bathroom door lock was broken and wasn’t fixed for about 2.5 months, when the repairman showed up, completely unannounced, to take a look. The building is in the 1 year warranty period, where a 3rd party is responsible for all repairs, and I interpret that as a hand-washing of any responsibility to get issues fixed. My balcony door was also unable to lock for about 2 months, and no one particularly cared about fixing it. With all the break-ins and thievery of packages in the building (we were promised a concierge we never got until recently, after a spat of robberies in the building), it didn’t inspire a lot of confidence that they were fine to keep my balcony door unchecked. I actually think I’ve been fairly lucky to not have any packages stolen as many other residents have complained about having theirs taken.

On top of this, I was shown an apartment on a higher floor and promised the train noises wouldn’t be a problem. Spoiler alert – it’s a huge issue, and if it weren’t for the two month free rent, I would have left here as soon as my lease allowed me to. It’s a consistent theme where the sales people promise you ease and simplicity, but you find out what you were promised and what was delivered are very different. When I brought up these issues, they were ignored for weeks, and I asked to be escalated to the manager of multiple properties. Even getting a call back from her took about 3 weeks, with a possible resolution of moving me to another unit in the new building that was opening. Lo and behold, the sales agents claimed they were never told of this and leased up most of the building before I even got a chance to look at any units (the manager claims she told them, so someone was lying to me). Also, I found out that if I moved too much higher I’d be charged higher rent, even though I was originally shown an apartment on a higher floor. The apartments are significantly overpriced for basically no amenities, mediocre build quality, and horrible management.

I found out they’ve started implementing some positive changes (hiring security, getting rid of the rats near the bins), but that’s only because the tenants literally formed a union to force some positive change.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

The bad:
The train noise is incessant and becomes like a bad nightmare after a while. I bought a white noise machine, which helps, and thankfully, the tube usually stops around 1 am, but it starts right back up around 530. Don’t expect to sleep in much.
The trash bins/recycling are frequently not picked up which is frustrating, but I’m not sure who’s at fault on that one. Traffic noise is ok, but there is a lot of construction going on which can be distracting and close streets nearby.

The good:
You have good accessibility to the Canning Town station, so it isn’t too bad to get into central London (the Jubilee and DLR are relatively well connected). There is a nice Morrison’s and some decent cafes/restaurants around (nothing major yet but there is definitely some investment on this going on). Green space is lacking, but City Island is a nice walk and there’s a small park nearby there.

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

That there would be multiple burglaries, the concierge promised wouldn’t exist, the furniture in the apartments is quite mediocre, and that management would do as close to nothing as possible to resolve the issues.

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

Most of my issues have taken at least 5 follow-ups and never gotten a quick resolution. I’d say my average time between raising an issue and getting it resolved is somewhere between 1-3 months.

This is a Zone 3 property that is 2 minutes from the tube, and 12 minutes from Kings Cross. You really couldn’t ask for more. We intend to stay here for quite some time!

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Two minutes away from the tube, with a COOP right next to us. A new Creative Coworking space just launched opposite the property, and this is a dog owner’s dream. 10 minutes to the Wetlands and a bit longer to the forest. 1 tube stop away from Walthamstow and its lovely village and farmers markets. 1 tube stop from Tottenham Hale’s large stores (B and Q, Curry’s, Argos, etc…) and IKEA is 10 minutes from there. What I dislike is that we are a bit limited in terms of food delivery, but that is changing gradually as more services start catering to our area.

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

Luckily we live on the side away from the property under construction, but we did not know there was construction happening right across. This is no longer a problem for any tenants though, as the construction work has ended more or less.