5 most Googled questions about Streatham in South West London answered

Pub quizzes may now be different from what they used to be. Today, almost any question can be instantly answered out of thin air. Thanks to Google, we now have access to a wealth of knowledge within a few nifty taps on our phone screens. The Google autocomplete feature provides an entertaining insight into your pressing questions about the city. Using the expertise of Streatham experts, we have addressed some of the most commonly asked questions about the area. Let's discover things people want to know about Streatham.

What part of London is Streatham?

Located between Brixton and Norbury, Streatham is a large south London suburb, five miles south of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Lambeth. In some places, it also goes into the nearby London Borough of Wandsworth.

Before it became part of Greater London in 1965, Streatham was in Surrey. The London Plan identifies the area as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.

What is Streatham famous for?

Only one street in the UK is named Streatham High Road. The Streatham High Road is Europe's longest high street. The London Borough of Lambeth Council governs Streatham High Road. When the first supermarket in the country, Express Dairies Premier Supermarket, opened in 1951, it was built in Streatham. The first Waitrose shop was opened in Streatham a few years later, in 1955.

It wasn't a coincidence. Since Streatham High Road was a very prominent commercial street, its importance was dictated by its location. Following the end of World War I, Streatham became an entertainment district, with three cinemas, the Locarno ballroom (now Caesar's), Streatham Hill Theatre (then a bingo hall), and Streatham Ice Rink. As electric tram services arrived, it became a central shopping hub in the south. There was a time when Streatham was called the "West End of South London".

The BBC's Today Programme voted Streatham High Road the "Worst Street in Britain" in September 2002. As a result of a combination of factors, the industry declined steadily in the 1970s and more rapidly in the 1980s. Among them were long-term population movements to Croydon, Kingston, and Sutton; heavy traffic on the A23 (which connects central London with Gatwick Airport and Brighton); and a shortage of urban regeneration sites. When a Sainsbury's supermarket opened in 1990, replacing a small Sainbury's store opposite Streatham Hill railway station, half a mile south of the town centre, Pratts, operated by John Lewis Partnership since 1940, closed. For many, this represented the beginning of the area's period of decline.

However, Streatham's streets and public spaces have been upgraded thanks to The Mayor's Outer London Fund. This fund awarded £300,000 in Round One and £1.6m in Round Two, matched by £1m from Lambeth. There are over 400 shops on Streatham's high street, making it a highly eclectic and vibrant town centre despite the busy A23 main road running through it. A redesign of Streatham High Road included removing hundreds of metres of railings along the central reservation to facilitate pedestrian access. New lighting has made the high street more inviting, and shop fronts have been spruced up.

As part of the proposed multi-million pound Streatham Hub development, Tesco bought the site of the Streatham Ice Arena in 2001. Two hundred fifty homes, a large Tesco store, and an Olympic-sized ice rink were all part of the plans.

On 18 December 2011, the arena was finally closed, demolished, and replaced with a mixed-use development complex, which opened to the public November 18, 2013.

Why is Streatham Cemetery in Tooting?

During the second cholera epidemic of 1848–49, the Metropolitan Burial Act of 1852 gave the Streatham Burial Board access to land in the country for a cemetery. William Newton Dunn built two lodges and two mirrored chapels in the Gothic style and opened them for burials in 1894. In the old Streatham parish boundary, Streatham Cemetery was located in the manor of Tooting Bec, now in Upper Tooting parish. A cemetery's western edge used to separate Streatham and Wandsworth. The boundary now separates Tooting from Earlsfield/Wandsworth Common in Wandsworth.

How safe is Streatham

Based on police data from February 2022, Streatham Wells is Lambeth's safest area.

Crime rates in the area were significantly lower than in London, at three crimes per 1,000 residents.

Despite that, the relatively poor transportation system discourages potential house buyers from considering the area seriously. As a result, house prices are slightly lower than in Balham or Tooting.

It was said that the most common crimes in February were thefts of different kinds, attacks without injuries, and harassment.

Averaging four crimes per 1,000 people in February, the southern end of Streatham also reported relatively few crimes.

Miscellaneous theft accounted for 20 incidents, the most by far.

The police reported only seven incidents of harassment and violence.

There were nine incidents of shoplifting and one incident of robbery.

Streatham is often referred to as an "up and coming area" with many trendy wine bars and cafes, as it is situated close to Balham and Brixton.

This is likely to encourage gentrification. There were only six reported incidents per 1,000 people in the area in February.

In addition to harassment, assaults without injuries, and vandalism, the most common crimes reported were largely minor.

The St. Leonard's part of Streatham is being gentrified, though it remains to be seen if it will succeed.

There were eight crimes per 1,000 residents in February, which aligns with the London average.

Assaults without injury, thefts, and harassment were the most common crimes.

Will Streatham get a tube?

In a nutshell, no!

South Londoners feel that the London Underground serves only a few parts of London south of the river well. Many Londoners still have to rely on buses or Ubers to get around because of gaps in service. Furthermore, there are few connections between the north and the south.

Four proposals studied by London Underground during the 1980s would have allowed Northern Line trains currently terminating in Kennington to continue southwards. Two routes were seriously considered: one to Streatham and one to Peckham Rye. According to the plans, the Streatham route would have travelled along the A23, passing beneath sewers and the Victoria Line in Brixton. Several stations would have had to be built, but some could have been constructed within existing overground stations, such as Brixton Hill and Streatham Hill. The result is that the tube stations in critical areas tend to get packed.

The A202 Camberwell New Road would have linked Peckham Rye to Camberwell Green. The routes never happened, which made many Londoners sad because the north and south parts of the city needed better connections.

The Mayor of London made it clear in 2009 that the idea of extending to Streatham had been discarded. He said the tube system would not be expanded to Streatham by London Underground.

Thank you for reading.

Please feel free to add anything I may have missed in the comments.