I live in Streatham. It was a nice place many years ago. Sadly it was too many years ago and the deterioration is very sad to see. There are still pockets of the ‘old’ Streatham around in the back streets and houses that show a subtle grandeur (those that have not been converted into flats that is) but by and large the homogeneic High Street does nothing to entice. There are some definite nuggets hidden away and some fine eating and drinking to be had but the overall Streatham experience make these pale into insignificance. The one thing it has going for it is the positive integration of multiple communities in an untroubled whole. The time has come for an urban regeneration but it will be slow and an uphill struggle while large high density low-cost housing means that people take little or no care of their environs, rendering the experience of Streatham a filthy, unkempt, haphazard community.

Oh .. and how do I know all this? Well I have lived in the area for over 30 years