Battersea/Clapham Junction area - noise?

breadmonkey

I'm looking to move somewhere near Clapham Junction but I notice there's a heliport in Battersea. I didn't think much of it until I got this reply from a landlord while making enquiries about a flat there:

The flat is a traditional Victorian terrace with normal sash windows. That means you can def hear the planes overhead until you adjust to that noise. The street is quiet but the planes are a constant. I didn't find them too troublesome but I've lived in Battersea for 5+ years now so I may be desensitised to them.

I find that a bit :eek: Anybody living in the area?

Playboy

The windows must not be double glazed if its that bad. I know a lot of people living in the area and they never mention the noise. Also its not exactly cheap so I doubt there would be a high level of noise pollution

5uspect

You can view the various flight paths online for example:
http://www.heathrowairport.com/portal/site/heathrow/menuitem.f03e69d4cefdf3c524ba4a109328c1a0

Living pretty much anywhere in London you will aircraft noise, you will get used to it. I live out in Richmond right under the flight path of landing aircraft and I hardly notice it anymore. It also stops at night so it won't keep you awake.

More importantly I would be worried about a property without double glazing after the winters we've been having and the ever rising cost of heating.

lima

Hi,

I lived in Battersea for two years and I had to wear ear plugs EVERY night, since the planes stop at 11:30pm, and start up again at about 04:45, and by 7am they are every two minutes, until the end of the day. Honestly, it was ridiculously annoying, but I am a very light sleeper and no one else in my house were bothered by it. But, if I was to move back to London I'd probably avoid Battersea just because of the planes..

Also, I lived next to the Heliport for 4 months, in a riverside apartment on the Battersea side about 300m from the heliport. They are not bad as they don't land at silly times, mostly after 8am and never after 9pm. Though more of them seemed to land at weekends. And when they did land, they were very very loud, and the noise lasts for about 3-4min.

Hope this helps!

Scarinae

I have been living in Battersea for nearly two years, the first flat was near Clapham Junction station and the current flat is vaguely between Clapham Junction and Battersea Park. Planes fly over a lot, but they fly over most of London a lot, so it isn't something that bothers me. I hardly hear them unless I am actually listening out for them. In the first flat I had more trouble adjusting to the sound of the trains, but it was handy being so close to the station. If you're likely to be going to Ireland a lot, it is a really handy area for getting to Gatwick airport, all the (non direct) trains to Gatwick from Victoria stop at Clapham Junction so you can get to the airport in about half an hour.

Maybe ask the landlord if the windows are double glazed, as someone else said that would be more of an issue when it comes to heating bills.

breadmonkey

Cheers for the replies so far.

We viewed a place the other day that was just a couple of minutes walk from the rear entrance to Clapham Junction station. The flat itslef was really nice but the area seemed a bit grim. The massive council estate behind the station kind of put us off. I'm wondering though if we're just being a bit presumptuous. Anyone live around that area - is ist OK?

Jack B. Badd

breadmonkey wrote: »

Cheers for the replies so far.

We viewed a place the other day that was just a couple of minutes walk from the rear entrance to Clapham Junction station. The flat itslef was really nice but the area seemed a bit grim. The massive council estate behind the station kind of put us off. I'm wondering though if we're just being a bit presumptuous. Anyone live around that area - is ist OK?

One thing you'll probably need to get used to is that you can go from extremely posh areas to seemingly rough areas in London with a 10 minute walk & you'll probably also have a council estate/block near your doorstep wherever you are. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the area.

breadmonkey

Jack B. Badd wrote: »

One thing you'll probably need to get used to is that you can go from extremely posh areas to seemingly rough areas in London with a 10 minute walk & you'll probably also have a council estate/block near your doorstep wherever you are. It doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with the area.

Oh I've definitely realised that. I've lived in two places in London so far and in both cases, I could leave my front door and walk left 10 mins to a total **** hole or right 10 mins to rows of mansions. The thing with this place was that it was in what seemed to be a huge council estate and looked a bit dodgy to me at a first viewing.

lima

I lived about 15min walk from CJ station, towards the river, so I had to walk up that area behind CJ, and yeah it's grim (wait till winter hits and it gets grimmer!) but yeah thats just London really.. you can pop down the road to battersea park road and it gets nicer.. but you are so close to a massive transport hub with trains and buses that it hardy bothered me too much, felt a little unsafe at night but you just have to be careful in a lot of area in London

...as for the planes, they are not all over London, the Heathrow flight path goes directly over Battersea and Clapham, in a pretty direct path, pretty much a flight every two minutes.. I think I just thought about the planes so much that they just bothered me so much.. if you are a light sleeper they will annoy you, but just get some earplugs and you'll be grand.