Paul Hawkins writes in the Times about the shooting of 15-year-old Billy Fox Cox, no more than a few hundred yards from "speciality bread shops and estate agents advertising million-pound houses". For Christ's sake, stop the madness, she demands:

The Fenwick estate may not be an attractive place to live, but Clapham is no Peckham.

Too right it's not. It has organic food merchants and an independent bookshop. It's young residents shouldn't be shot. The article might not have too many words of comfort if you're reading this from your home in Peckham. But if you're a Clapham resident, the message is clear. Don't panic. The value of your home is unlikely to be affected by a few dead teenagers.

At the corner of Clapham High Street and Lendal Terrace, graffiti reading “RIP Remer”, a reference to Billy, the third South London teenager to be shot and killed in the space of two weeks, remains, but the disturbing violence is unlikely to affect house prices in what remains a sought-after location.

We'd like to have read Hawkins tackle the issue of the graffiti itself... because we all know how graffiti can instantly negate the added value of a well-constructed side return with all relevant planning permission. But unfortunately the rest of the article is devoted to the attractions of living in Clapham if you're young a minted.

Posh Peckham [April 6, 2006]
More for your money in Bellenden Road [March 14, 2006]
Peckham in the sky with diamonds... [September 23, 2005]

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