Living in Catford: travel links, parking, schools, best streets — and the average cost of monthly rent

Commuting’s easy in this well-connected neighbourhood, as young professionals are discovering.
1/8

A few years ago, Catford Market launched - and fairly soon after, it closed with a whimper. There just wasn’t the enthusiasm in the area to sustain it.

Recently though, they tried again with a street food and craft market on the last Sunday of every month and it has taken off, just one of the markers that give locals the impression that the long-promised uplift is coming to Catford.

The lowdown on Catford

With a choice of two train lines, the area is better connected than a lot of south London but thanks to its slightly under-the-radar status and comparatively un-trendy high street, rents are still better value than in cooler neighbourhoods nearby.

There’s a sense that this is about to change though, with flats in the popular new Catford Green development achieving record high rents in recent weeks, according to Richard Trafford, lettings director at Reeds Rains, although it may still be early days for the area to deserve its optimistic designation as “the new Dulwich”.

Who lives there? Young professionals are increasingly attracted to the area by the fast commute into the City, while families have enjoyed the good schools, lovely parks and strong community feel for years.

Parking in Catford

A residents parking permit costs £120 a year.

Crime in Catford

Crime is lower than the London average with eight crimes per 1,000 residents. The most commonly reported crimes are assault without injury, harassment and violence.

Fitness clubs in Catford

There are tennis courts and a skate park in Ladywell Fields and branches of Fitness 4 Less and énergie Fitness Catford in the area.

Average cost of renting in Catford

Property size Average monthly cost
One-bedroom flat £1,036
Two-bedroom flat £1,362
Two-bedroom house £1,402
Three-bedroom house £1,664
Four-bedroom house £2,119

Source: Rightmove

Best Catford streets to live on

The new wave of younger professional renters moving to Catford love the new Catford Green development by Barratt, while families flock to the Corbett Estate with its period houses and good schools, says Richard Trafford, lettings director at Reeds Rains.

Catford travel links and accessibility

“Probably the biggest perk of living here is that it’s really well connected, which I don’t think you can say for much of south London,” says Catford resident Jacob Muggleton.

Southeastern trains from Catford Bridge take 23 minutes to Charing Cross, while the Thameslink from Catford station travels through central London via Blackfriars and St Pancras and out to Luton.

Best schools in Catford

Rathfern Primary School, Kilmorie Primary School, Torridon Primary School and Holy Cross Catholic Primary School are all rated “outstanding” by Ofsted.

Supermarkets and food markets in Catford

Catford’s large supermarkets include branches of Aldi, Lidl and a Tesco Superstore on the doorstep.

There are also plenty of local fruit and veg shops, which renter Jacob Muggleton favours for good-value produce.

“You can get tomatoes that are twice the size and half the price.”

Downsides?

This is unreconstructed south-east London and not everyone’s idea of a good place for a night out.

The high street is badly in need of a facelift — the downmarket chains give it a tired look, at odds with the more prosperous-looking residential districts surrounding it.

What the locals say:

‘Bustling spot is great for people watching’

Jacob Muggleton shares a two-bedroom flat which costs £1,400 a month to rent at the new Catford Green scheme
Adrian Lourie

Renters are ideally placed to be property pioneers, testing London neighbourhoods that haven’t yet attracted many lifestyle columns or hipster Instagrammers — districts so new to the scene that the sourdough bakers and artisan coffee roasters haven’t moved in.

Jacob Muggleton, 25, is trying out Catford, where he and his flatmate have just signed up for a second year in their £1,400-a-month, two-bedroom flat at the new Catford Green development on the 11-acre site of the former Catford greyhound stadium, having known relatively little about the area before they moved in.

“We wanted to be in south-east London because both of our families live in Bromley and our friends are here but we didn’t know much about Catford, except that my flatmate, Ed, had seen the development on his Thameslink commute,” says Jacob, who works in fundraising for the charity Freedom From Torture.

“I’d heard murmurings about gentrification in Catford but I’m not really sure it has taken off yet. I think parts of it are trying to be quite hipster, like the food market, but it’s not that full on, like Peckham or Shoreditch.

“It’s gritty and it’s very busy and being on the South Circular it’s always full of cars and buses, which could put some people off, but there are always people around, and I like that. I spend a lot of time on my balcony on the fourth floor people watching — there’s joy to be had watching people rush for the train.”

Shopping in Catford

Jacob recommends Good Food Catford for deli foods, unusual vegetables and locally sourced products, such as coffee roasted in south London. He also likes Bottle, which sells bottled cocktails and wines to drink in or take away.

Eating and drinking in Catford

Food markets, cafés and quirky pubs are Jacob’s top picks in the area. He particularly recommends the Good Hope café in Ladywell Fields; Catford Food Market on the last Sunday of every month; and The Constitutional Club, “like a huge, decaying house but in a charming way”.

Culture in Catford

Ninth Life is a pub, opening until 3am at the weekend bringing festival culture to London. “The first time I went, there was a woman with a hula hoop walking in as I was leaving,” says Jacob. “And they do film screenings, performances and circus acts.”

Green space in Catford

“I spend a lot of my weekends walking and exploring south-east London from Ladywell Park, which is just on my doorstep, to Hilly Fields, which has views of the City on a nice day,” says Jacob.

MORE ABOUT