Whether or not people mean it literally when they say the groundswell of community events I’ve written a lot about are ‘really putting Highams Park on the map’, Highams park is indeed about to appear on the map – the transport for London map that is. Although our train service won’t change, at least in the immediate term, when TFL take over the Liverpool Street to Chingford line in a few days, people across London will see our station (and indeed Wood Street and Chingford) on the same map as the more familiar underground lines. The area’s proximity to Walthamstow and the City will perhaps become more apparent to people who have previously given the E4 postcode very little thought. 

Whether this will have an impact on the area only time will tell. When TFL took other suburban services into the overground network  reports abounded of rising property prices and the sudden emergence of new hipster hotspots. This could be a double edged sword – already some attempts to create new focus for highams park have been stalled by unmanageable commercial rents for small local businesses. 

One thing which will not change is the continued growth in the community led initiatives which make the area a very special and exciting place to live. One opportunity arising directly from the change in management of the railway station takes place this week when the trackside retail unit becomes a temporary pop up shop ‘ (not quite) the end of the line ‘ run by the Highams Park Society and providing local groups and craftspeople with an opportunity to showcase what they do. This is just a prelude to another summer of events, which will include the first Highams Park Festival of Culture, the launch of two further Little Free Libraries, and the annual Highams Park Day. Anyone venturing for the first time to the newest area on the map should find more than enough to make them want to stay.