We have visited the East London hotspot and prepared the below Forest Gate area guide for you.
We cover things like crime and house prices and then come to our verdict at the end.
If you’d like to skip to any part of this a article you can do so via the below links.
Table of Contents
- About Forest Gate
- Forest Gate Area Guide – Transport Links
- Forest Gate Area Guide – Crime
- Forest Gate Area Guide – House Prices
- Forest Gate Area Guide – Population and Demographics
- Things to do in Forest Gate
- Verdict – Is Forest Gate a nice place to live?
About Forest Gate
Forest Gate forms part of the London Borough of Newham. It is located 7 miles northeast of Central London.
The area’s name relates to its position adjacent to Wanstead Flats, the southernmost part of Epping Forest.
Forest Gate was once home to a number of industries, including brick-making, brewing, and shipbreaking.
The area was heavily bombed during World War II.
In terms of trivia, the area was once the home of many leading lights in music and culture.
Notably UK rappers Kano and Plan B both previously called Forest Gate home.
Forest Gate Area Guide – Transport Links
Forest Gate is deep in the heart of East London and as such it is well served by public transport.
The main transport hub itself is Forest Gate Train station which forms part of the Elizabeth Line (Crossrail).
As we mentioned on previous area reviews such as Ilford and Romford, Crossrail didn’t massively change things.
Long time residents will know that there was always a slow train linking Shenfield to London Liverpool Street. Forest Gate was just a stop on that line.
Whilst the Elizabeth Line is clean, reliable and air conditioned it still takes 13 minutes which is comparable to the old service.
Where Crossrail has made a noticeable difference is if you’re looking to get to Paddington or Heathrow.
Also of note when it comes to transport links is that Stratford is a short journey away.
It is 4 minutes on the train or about 8 minutes by bus depending on traffic.
From Stratford you can get wherever you want to in the capital.
Forest Gate Area Guide – Crime
The crime rate in Forest Gate is noticeably higher than the average for London.
However, the crime rate has been falling in recent years.
In 2022/23, the crime rate in Forest Gate was 123.04 crimes per thousand population.
This is lower than the previous rate which was 127.4 crimes per thousand population.
To put into context, the average crime figure for the rest of London is 95 crimes per 1,000.
Whilst this sounds like a negative, it must be noted that;
A) The crime is falling.
B) Huge programmes of regeneration are taking place.
C) Crime is lower than some nearby areas such as Bethnal Green.
The most common types of crime in Forest Gate are anti-social behaviour, violence and sexual offences, and vehicle crime.
Forest Gate Area Guide – House Prices
According to Rightmove, properties in Forest Gate had an overall average price of £530,208 over the last year.
This is more than Manor Park (£492,000) but less than Bethnal Green (£602,000).
The majority of sales in Forest Gate during the last year were terraced properties, selling for an average price of £577,614.
Flats sold for an average of £339,301, with semi-detached properties fetching £876,444.
Overall, sold prices in Forest Gate over the last year were 4% up on the previous year and 15% up on the 2019 peak of £460,114.
These figures show property to be slightly more expensive than Ilford.
This does make sense however what with Forest Gate being that bit closer to Central London.
Forest Gate Area Guide – Population and Demographics
Forest Gate is one of the most diverse areas you could ever travel to.
Walking around you will see a wide range of cultures and ethnicities. There are huge Asian populations but also white eastern Europeans.
Take somewhere like Southall as a comparison, that has a huge Indian population.
But Forest Gate has that and also the largest number of Poles anywhere in London also.
According to the 2021 Census the population of Forest Gate is 28,761.
To get to this number we have added Forest Gate North to Forest Gate South. This is as the figures are split by wards.
In terms of an ethnic breakdown the residents are as follows;
Asian – 39%
White – 33% (includes Eastern European)
Black – 18%
The rest of those poled identified as Arab, Mixed or Other.
Things to do in Forest Gate
Like a number of places in East London, Forest Gate isn’t necessarily an entertainment hub.
As we mentioned in the travel section, Forest Gate is so close to Stratford that many would travel there.
Forest Gate has its own quite run down shopping hub where essentials can be found.
However outside of this there’s not much which jumps out.
We did note a couple of things to visit;
Forest Gate Community Garden
Situated just off the High Street (Woodgrange Road) is a lovely community garden.
It was closed when we visited but it looked like a charming place to spend some time. There are various events and celebrations at the garden and it looks like a very welcoming venue.
Forest Gate Youth Zone
Forest Gate Youth Zone is a great place for young people to go and socialise. As part of the continued efforts of Newham Borough Council, it is funded by them.
They offer all kinds of Music, Sports and Dance forms of entertainment. Your best bet its to check them out on Instagram here.
Verdict – Is Forest Gate a nice place to live?
Put frankly Forest Gate hasn’t got the best reputation in London. Historically it has been well known for gangs and deprivation.
With that said however, times change and places improve.
Has Forest Gate improved?
Yes and no.
On on hand crime seems to be moving in the right direction and walking around you can see the funds being poured into the area.
But on the other hand after spending around 36 hours in the area there remains an undercurrent of crime.
Graffiti is scrawled on new and old buildings and we didn’t feel particularly safe after dark.
This is not to undermine the hard work being completed by the police and council, it just seems the work isn’t done.
Should you buy or invest in the area? Well you get more for your money than in neighbouring Tower Hamlets.
People may want to move to Forest Gate for all manner of reasons, including due to family members being nearby.
If you add that to being just down the road from the amazing transport links of Stratford, a case can be made.
Also it seems like there is a slow gentrification taking place.
Who knows, buying there now may be like buying in Hackney in the 2000’s, you could be onto a winner.
