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Neighbourhood profile
Downham
Lewisham, London
PocketsDownham East (Baring Road · Downham Fields · Northover · Downham Woodland Walk · Downham Way)Downham West (Beckenham Place Park · Downham Woodland Walk · Peter Pan's Park · River Ravensbourne · Downham Park)Further Green (Northover · Hither Green Cemetery)
Downham sits in southern Lewisham on the Bromley border, the 1920s London County Council cottage estate built out on what had been farmland above Catford. The entire ward falls inside a conservation area — the Downham Estate itself — and the single listed entry is the Grade II Baring Hall Hotel and stable block, a surviving older landmark on Bromley Road. Nature is strong: 61 hectares of green space anchored by the 26-hectare Beckenham Place Park on the eastern edge. Forty-six outstanding-rated schools sit within reach, one of the deepest education footprints in this batch, and pollution scores are strong at 75. The drawbacks are narrow. Safety scores sit at 47 below the London median, and public-transport access is only moderate, anchored by Grove Park and Catford stations rather than any Tube. The food and nonFood venue counts are respectable but the ward is residential-first rather than a high-street centre.
- Strongest75Air & Quiet
Clean air and low ambient noise by London standards
- Also strong70Nature Access
Strong access to green space and waterways
- Watch out0Area development
Little recent major-development activity
At a glance
- Moderate public-transport access
- 1 listed building
- 100% covered by a conservation area
- 6 schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted within 1 km
- Largest green space: Beckenham Place Park (26 hectares)
- 127 open venues (80 food and drink, 47 other)
12 pockets across 3 named areas · coloured by overall score.See on full map ↗
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Downham, layer by layer
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Scores as of 23 Aug 2026 · prices to 2026 · crime to Jun 2026 · air 2022 · sources
Property prices & growth
60Better than 79% of London
How scores work - Purchase affordability75
- Rent affordability80
- Price momentum (5yr)57
- Activity (turnover)32
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Prices, rent & trends
£ per square foot to buy, an estimated 2-bed rent, and decades of sale-price history for this ward.
For Downham: 125 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price trend £—
Safety
48Better than 48% of London
- Personal safety38
- Property crime51
- Anti-social behaviour56
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Safety deep-dive
Every recorded crime type — burglary, robbery, vehicle crime and more — grouped into personal, property and anti-social behaviour, with the monthly trend for this ward.
For Downham: personal, property & anti-social breakdown24-mo trend to Jun 2026counts —
Connectivity
40Better than 40% of London
Median public-transport access is moderate (TfL PTAL 3.0 of 8 across this ward).
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Connectivity deep-dive
Real TfL journey times to London's major hubs, plus this ward's transport access rank across London.
For Downham: — min by TfL to 8 major hubsaccess rank —
Air & Quiet
75Better than 89% of London
- Air quality68
- Quietness85
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Air & noise deep-dive
NO₂, PM2.5 and road/rail noise for this ward, each against WHO / UK limits.
Cultural Signal
16Better than 26% of London
- Nightlife0
- Dining14
- Arts & culture0
- Retail & shops7
- Sports & recreation0
- Independent scene36
- Vitality (openings, diversity)38
127 open venues nearby — 80 food & drink, 47 other.
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Culture deep-dive
What's open nearby — the venue mix, share of independents, and recent openings.
For Downham: the mix behind 127 open venues—% independent
Education
60Better than 80% of London
- Primary schools54
- Secondary schools68
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School inspection history
Every school in this ward with its current Ofsted rating and multi-year trend.
For Downham: 8 schools, each with its inspection record
Heritage
42Better than 56% of London
1 listed building · 100% under a conservation area
- Baring Hall Hotel and Associated Stable BlockGrade II
From Historic England's National Heritage List for England.
Nature Access
70Better than 75% of London
- Green spaces93
- Waterways25
Largest green space: Beckenham Place Park (26 ha). ~61 ha of green space in total.
Area development
0Shared lowest band with 24% of London
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Planning pipeline
Named recent approvals with homes and floorspace, the local homes pipeline, and the affordable share.
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- Prices — £ per square foot, an estimated rent, and the ward’s full price history
- Safety — crime by type with its monthly trend
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For Downham: 125 sales recorded (2025)32-yr price history £—24-mo crime trend to Jun 2026TfL times to 8 hubs — min8 schools' inspection records127 venues mapped
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What's changing in Downham
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Downham, quick answers
- Is Downham safe?
- Downham scores 48 for safety, based on street-level recorded crime (police.uk) — mid-table for London. The score weighs personal safety, property crime and anti-social behaviour separately rather than ranking on one raw total, so the mix of crime matters as well as the volume.
- Is Downham a good place to live?
- Downham scores 45 overall when all nine data layers are weighted equally. The London comparison beside the score shows how that number ranks against every ward. Its strongest suits are air & quiet (75) and nature access (70); its weakest is area development (0). Whether it suits you depends on what you weight — the same data re-ranked around your own priorities can read very differently.
- How well connected is Downham?
- Moderate public-transport access: Transport for London rates the typical spot in Downham 3 on its 0–8 public-transport access scale, which puts the ward at 40 for connectivity relative to the rest of London.
- Is Downham expensive to buy in?
- Relative to the rest of London, Downham is among London's more affordable areas to buy: its purchase-affordability score is 15/20, where higher means cheaper per square foot (HM Land Registry sold prices matched to floor areas).
- What are the schools like near Downham?
- Downham scores 60 for education, based on Ofsted ratings and walking distance to the nearest rated primary and secondary schools. 6 schools within a kilometre hold an Outstanding rating.
Where else to look
Wards with a similar profile
- Hither Green · Lewisham
- Grove Park · Lewisham
- Hillingdon West · Hillingdon
- Catford South · Lewisham
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Neighbourhood matches
Find areas that score like this one, with the price difference for each.
Nearby wards
- Beckenham Town & Copers Cope · Bromley
- Bromley Town · Bromley
- Plaistow · Bromley
- Shortlands & Park Langley · Bromley
- Bellingham · Lewisham
More affordable, similar areas
- Wealdstone South · HarrowMore affordable
- Ilford Town · RedbridgeMore affordable
- Abbey · Barking and DagenhamMore affordable
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