Residents of a South London neighbourhood shaken by two shootings over the weekend fear officials have forgotten about the area. 

Two men suffered gunshot wounds over a period of three days in Tulse Hill in Lambeth – the first shooting took place on Friday (December 16), followed by the second on Sunday night (December 18).

Locals fear teenagers end up getting involved in gangs because of a lack of things to do in the area.

Despite this, they believe the neighbourhood is still safer than it was a decade ago and are proud of the area’s many independent businesses – saying it has so far managed to avoid chain shops like Pret A Manger taking over the high street. 

Musician Debbie Schipp, who moved to Tulse Hill on a whim four years ago after finding a cheap flat to rent, said: “There are gang problems in the area and sometimes it gets dirty.

"There needs to be bins and more entertainment for young people.

“I love it though. It’s home now.

"I love the community – it’s very friendly. I got the choice to move to St John’s in Lewisham which is nice, but I didn’t want to move.

"I love the small businesses. It’s not overrun with chains. It’s not one Pret after another like in a lot of London.” 

But Ali Kamran, who has run a butcher and food shop on the high street for five years, said he feared the area was going downhill due to a lack of investment.

Mr Kamran, 45, said: “There’s not a lot of improvement. It has gone down rather than gone up. 

“If you come in the evening there’s no street lights on and the road is in darkness.

"There’s no one around in the evening because of that, especially women and children.

"It’s just barbers and hairdressers open. I’ve reported the light problems many times.

“Crime is a huge problem. I’ve had thieves come into my shop.

"A few months ago I caught one and held him until the police came. But he damaged all my stuff inside and outside the shop.” 

Mr Kamran, who lives locally, added: “Since they introduced the traffic restrictions [low traffic neighbourhoods] during Covid I’ve lost more than 40 per cent of my business.

"It used to take some people two minutes to drive here and now it takes 20 minutes so they go to Streatham High Road instead.” 

Almost 35per cent of families in Tulse Hill are classed as deprived in one way, according to the 2021 Census.

This could mean a person is unemployed in their household, nobody in the family has good GCSEs, someone they live with has a long-term health problem or they are living in overcrowded housing, among other factors. 

Only one out of seven neighbouring areas has more deprived families living in it, according to the Census.

In nearby Poets’ Corner and Brockwell Park, less than 28pc of households are considered deprived in at least one way. 

Carlos Cruz, 44, owner of Carlos’s Italian Coffee House near Tulse Hill station, said he moved out of the area years ago because it wasn’t family-friendly.

He said: “It has got safer than it was 15 years ago, but it’s still not safe enough. Every week in Lambeth there’s two or three shootings – here and in Brixton. There’s no police in the area.”

He added that irregular train services at the weekend meant he and other businesses in Tulse Hill were losing out on customers.

Mr Cruz, who has run his cafe for 15 years, said: “We only have one station here and hardly a weekend goes by when the station is closed or trains aren’t running.

“They blame it on the strikes but it happens strikes or no strikes. A lot of people come in as they’re leaving or heading to the station.

"It really affects business and the local economy of the area when it’s closed.” 

Despite this, new residents don’t appear to be put off from moving in the area – where the average house price has surged 21.8pc in the last five years.

Buyers can expect to have to fork out £618,000 for the average property – almost £135,000 more than in 2017, according to estate agent Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward.

Tulse Hill’s increasing trendiness hadn’t gone unnoticed by Debbie Schipp whose rent shot up by more than £100 alone this year. She said: “It’s getting gentrified certainly.

"There’s a lot of noise from apartments getting built. We’re still lacking healthy food shops that they’ve got in Norwood though.

"There’s a lot of chicken shops, but not much choice.”