Eco-friendly homes in East Dulwich's 'micro hub': townhouses and converted flats in south-east London hotspot with relaxed neighbourhood vibe

Having moved from shabby to shabby chic, East Dulwich has settled into a comfortable niche. Lordship Lane, the district's spine, is stuffed with restaurants and bars, while creeping gentrification is evident in the vintage clothing boutiques, design stores and artisan jewellery shops that have replaced bookmakers and fast-food joints.

Families move here for a modest Victorian house and plug into a well-oiled community network of nurseries, schools and mums' clubs, while young singles and couples enjoy the relaxed neighbourhood vibe.

The west side, nearer to quaint Dulwich Village, considers itself superior to the east side, bordering Peckham. But the distinction is lost on outsiders. Leafy eastern streets between Lordship Lane and Crystal Palace Road are becoming more popular, and none more so than Upland Road, a micro hub where small housing developments are sprouting up on old garage sites and mews.

Station Yard, a terrace of five new-build, eco-friendly townhouses raises the bar above £1 million with unfussy brick façades and Scandi-style white-walled, oak-floored interiors.

Airy and open-plan, with clever use of lightwells, the houses each have a large basement kitchen-cum family room plus a free-flowing ground-floor space with folding glass doors on to a neat patio garden.

Townhouse prices start from £1,375,000, while Station House, four flats in a converted house that is part of the site cost from £500,000.

Call Winkworth on 020 8299 2722. Upland House, in the same road, has five new flats behind a tastefully restored Victorian façade. Prices from £465,000. Call 07880 727555.