A pleasant residential neighbourhood made up primarily of post-war semis with an abundance of green space, this neighbourhood area benefits from Beckenham Place Park, Bromley Hill, Plaistow Cemeteries, and Shaftesbury Park Recreation Ground within this neighbourhood’s boundaries. The Ravensbourne River, a tributary of the Thames, runs through it, as does part of the Capital Ring, a seventy-eight-mile walking trail around London’s periphery. Football lovers may also be excited to know that Millwall’s training grounds are situated here. The neighbourhood is well placed for Ravensbourne and Beckenham Park stations for journeys into Central London, or further out into the countryside. Award-winning Indian restaurant Cinnamon Culture is another major draw, and the D&B Academy of Performing Arts offers affordable three-year training programmes to aspiring show-bizzers!

This area was largely undeveloped until the aftermath of the First World War. Local councils were forced to seek new sites to build houses on, as there were widespread overcrowding issues in the innermost London boroughs. This neighbourhood’s two cemeteries predate these developments, however. Bromley Hill Cemetery opened in 1907. The chapel and mortuary chapel were designed by Evelyn Hellicar, a local architect. London Road Cemetery, Bromley’s oldest, opened in 1877.

The gentle, suburban feel of this area mean it isn’t really a magnet for famous people, but music legend David Bowie attended Burnt Ash Junior School back in the 1950s!

As a suburban, residential area, the sector does not hold much in the way of entertainment or amenities. The only train station within the sector itself, Sundridge Park, is not on a direct line into London, although Beckenham Hill and Ravensbourne both are, and are within easy reach of its boundary. However, the green space and spacious houses lend the area a leafy and relaxed feel, which more central neighbourhoods tend to lack.

Downham is actually located at the intersection of two local authorities, the Boroughs of Lewisham and Bromley, with each setting out their own plans for the area. Regarding transport, Bromley Council is aware of the traffic congestion issues that can occur along the A21, A222 and the A232 at peak times, although it’s noteworthy that this outer-London village is still relatively quiet despite this. In their latest local plan, Bromley Council has identified the need to safeguard land for transport improvements and congestion relief along these roads and has developed agreements with TfL regarding the funding and management of these improvement schemes.

Lewisham Council on the other has developed new plans to enhance and increase the residential stock in Downham. The council approved in late 2022 plans for the development of 25 much-needed homes for social rent and 11 shared ownership homes on the site of disused allotments and garages near Arcus Road and Chingley Close. Named Passivhaus, the scheme intends to prioritise environmentally sustainable measures to cut energy bills for future tenants to a fraction of what they normally would be. Besides the new homes, the development will also include the construction of two new streets, a shared public play area and the planting of trees and hedgerows. Lewisham Council is also planning to develop 27,267 new homes across the borough by 2040, with the entire south of the borough, which includes Downham, as a ‘strategic area for regeneration’.