Let's look at Sutton. (Sutton in General)

Member Name: Marcus_T

Product:	Sutton in General
Date:	24/04/01 (650 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Equal proximity to country and London

Disadvantages: Expensive property if you don't own yet.

I moved to Sutton 3 years ago and thought I would pen an opinion. I have listed the main subject headings important to any area and gone from there.

~~Brief History~~

Sutton dates back as far as year 727 and was initially called “south tun” or “south farm”. In the mid 18th century Sutton was a very small village. Growth started round about 1850 when the railway was built. At the end of the First World War, the major housing development took off and paved the way for the thriving community it is today. HG Wells once lived here.

~~Location~~

Sutton lies to the South West of London. A Sutton address will show you as a Surrey resident but the Council is a London Borough and telephone numbers are also London 020. Just to the north is Wimbledon, Croydon is to the east, Surbiton/Thames Ditton to the west and to the south is Epsom, Leatherhead, the M25, M23 and beyond. The town is well placed for proximity to Central London and also to Gatwick Airport.

~~Transport.~~

The town is well served by trains, buses and roads. Connex runs the rail services (at the moment) and there is a regular, fast service into Victoria that takes about 25 minutes with all trains going through Clapham Junction making Sutton a popular commuter area; the station is currently being modernised and at time of writing the refurbishment is at an advanced stage. Roads into Central London are heavily used, as you may expect, and a journey by car into at 7.30am can be extremely tedious with the return leg often pushing you close to tears! Running through from east to west is the A232 which will take you from Epsom all the way to Croydon and beyond into Kent; this is a busy road and a red route all the way now. Going south out of Sutton is the A217 which connects you with the beautiful Epsom Downs and the not so beautiful M25 Junction 8…!!

~~Accommodation / Property~~

Sutton has been branded “flat lan
d”. Property is predominantly 30s and 70s buildings with many of the larger Victorian examples now either converted into flats or have been replaced with new developments of town houses or purpose-built flats. It is not uncommon to find 2 adjacent older houses replaced with a dozen or more town houses. The town can be divided into 2 areas; Sutton and South Sutton. Some northern parts of the former still suffers a certain amount of deprivation but a great deal of work has gone in to improve the situation. South Sutton has larger properties in quieter, wider, tree-lined roads and consequently house prices are significantly higher. This is Surrey so prices are not necessarily cheap. As a guide, a one bed flat with a small garden will go for about £110,000 and 3 bed houses sell from about £200,000. Council Tax seems about average with a £100,000 flat rating at £770 per annum. Prices seem to be rising quite steeply this year so far.

~~Shops~~

The nearest large shopping centres are at Kingston and Croydon. However, Sutton has many of the High Street multiples: M & S, BHS, Boots, WH Smiths, Wooloworths, Currys, Dixons etc. There is the usual plethora of mobile phone shops and in fact The Link, Phones 4U and Carphone Warehouse are literally adjacent to each other with the Orange Shop and DX Communication practically opposite. For food there is Safeway at one end of the High Street and Tesco at the other. Within easy reach by car are 2 Asdas, another Tesco (open 24 hrs) and a Sainsburys. It seems that whenever a shop closes, it is replaced with a fast food restaurant or another pub!

~~Schools~~

As Rachel and I are currently childless, we have not had a need yet to scrutinise the education standards and services. I do know, however, that there are 2 nursery, 40 primary and 6 secondary schools in the area as well as 4 special schools.

~~Leisure~~

Pubs are plentiful including many of the chains: JD Wetherspoon, All Ba
r One, Hoggshead, O’Neills, Rat & Parrot and Scruffy Murphys. I think the town could do with more restaurants; there is an excellent Tapas bar next door to Safeway and a couple of good Indian eateries. There is a 6 screen UCI multiplex showing all the latest releases and a couple of theatres one of which, called the Secombe Theatre, is named after the late Sir Harry Secombe. Parks are fairly plentiful including the huge Nonsuch park at Cheam. Sutton does not have it’s own public swimming baths but there are 3 within easy driving distance. Cannons now have 2 fitness clubs in the area one brand new with a swimming pool and all mod cons; the other is part of Sutton Cricket Club which, in turn, is almost adjacent to Sutton United FC. Holmes Place are also opening a massive centre in the High Street this year sometime I think so that will make the area well equipped. There are a couple of nighclubs but, to be honest, I have never tried them and probably never will… at nearly 35, I am happy with a can of beer, dooyoo.co.uk and bed by 11pm! :o) Hotels and Guest Houses are not that plentiful but there is a larger Holiday Inn just next to the High Street and seems about average in terms of price and services.

~~Jobs~~

There is not much industrial activity in Sutton; in fact there never has been really. Main employers are Sutton Council, Zurich Insurance (used to be Eagle Star) and Reed Business Publishing who have a large office block over-looking the station. As transport into London is pretty quick a lot of people work elsewhere ie Central London, Croydon etc.

~~Summary~~

Close enough to London to work there, close enough to the countryside to escape at weekends. Property is relatively inexpensive for London standards but get in quick if you are thinking of moving; prices are rising fast. Shopping and amenities are very adequate for everyday needs.

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