Buying a property in BR6 Orpington

Antman27

Hello,

We are considering buying a house in the BR6 area - in the catchment of 'good' rated primary schools. I've come across mixed reviews on Orpington. The Crays, Swanley etc. are clearly no-go which is why we zeroed in on BR6. But even within BR6, I understand (from many hours of Googling and a bit of walking around) that there are really nice pockets (eg. Farnborough, Locksbottom, south of Orpington station) whereas those to the east of Court Road not so much.    

Property market has really heated up due to the stamp duty exemption and the larger trend of work from home. This has meant that the only houses that tick most boxes and affordable seem to be closer to the main railway tracks (Repton Road, Stapleton Road etc.). There isn't a lot of information on noise, vibration and pollution specific to these places.  

So if anyone can share their personal experience of staying in or buying/selling properties close the tracks, it will be much appreciated. 

Thank you.

A

NameUnavailable

A friend of mine used to live on Repton Road. Seemed nice enough to me and they were happy there.

GeordieGeorge

I’m in BR7, near Chislehurst station, and it’s really nice here. We’ve friends in Farnborough Park which is also very nice, although to me it feels a bit cut off.

We’re both in gated developments, but there are a lot of other nice bits.

I’d suggest having a look round Bickley.

vixst

My grandparents used to live on Station Approach - so could not get closer to the station and tracks! Yes you could hear the trains, but they don't run super fast in this area (not enough time to build up much speed between stations) so it never used to bother us. Of course, you may be more sensitive to noise - each of us vary in what we can tolerate. Could you spend an hour or so on roads close to the tracks to see what you can hear? (I know not the same as standing in a back garden next to the tracks, but would give you an idea of general noise levels). Can't say I ever noticed vibration issues, nor anything pollution-related.

I also lived directly opposite West Dulwich station for five years. Noise never bothered me there either (promise you I'm not a train spotter!!)

Some bits of BR5 are nice too (but yes, you need to be a bit more picky). BR6 on the whole is better. 

Antman27

vixst said:

My grandparents used to live on Station Approach - so could not get closer to the station and tracks! Yes you could hear the trains, but they don't run super fast in this area (not enough time to build up much speed between stations) so it never used to bother us. Of course, you may be more sensitive to noise - each of us vary in what we can tolerate. Could you spend an hour or so on roads close to the tracks to see what you can hear? (I know not the same as standing in a back garden next to the tracks, but would give you an idea of general noise levels). Can't say I ever noticed vibration issues, nor anything pollution-related.

I also lived directly opposite West Dulwich station for five years. Noise never bothered me there either (promise you I'm not a train spotter!!)

Some bits of BR5 are nice too (but yes, you need to be a bit more picky). BR6 on the whole is better. 

Thank you so much. This does allay some of my concerns. I'm viewing a property this Saturday that has a thicket at the bottom of the back garden beyond which lies the tracks. So I'm guessing it shouldn't be too bad! 

vixst

Repton Road is very nice - close to both Orpington and Chelsfield stations, close to Orpington high street, 10 mins to M25. Nice houses on this road, traffic not particularly busy and also has a bus route. Hope your viewing goes well!

I lived in the Crays for my whole childhood, only escaped by going to university. I wouldn't recommend living there, unless you were facing homelessness. Some roads are ok, but just not worth it when you have many other options.