Living in Balham

Balham was once mocked as the Gateway to the South in a famous comedy sketch, and it has turned the joke into a local badge of honour. Today it is a busy, well-served neighbourhood that attracts professionals and young families who find Clapham too expensive or too loud. Balham High Road has supermarkets, gyms, restaurants and bars, and Hildreth Street, a small pedestrianised market street, adds grocers and cafés.

Transport is its main selling point. Balham station has both the Northern line, with direct trains to the City and West End, and Southern rail services to Victoria in around ten minutes, which makes it more flexible than many south London neighbourhoods. The Northern line trains are often crowded by the time they arrive from Tooting.

Balham sits between three commons. Clapham Common is to the north, Wandsworth Common to the west and Tooting Bec Common, with its lido, to the south-east, all within walking distance. That gives the area outstanding access to open space for running, sport and dog walking.

The housing includes large Victorian and Edwardian terraces, especially in the Heaver Estate conservation area, where substantial houses have been divided into flats or kept as family homes, and big mansion blocks such as Du Cane Court, a vast art deco building on the High Road that was once among the largest private apartment blocks in Europe. Rents are generally a step below Clapham but above Tooting. The trade-off is a less distinctive character than its neighbours; Balham is comfortable, convenient and sociable rather than exciting. It suits commuters, couples and young families who want transport, parks and everyday amenities in one place.