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A small town in East London has been in the spotlight recently as residents have noticed a sudden change since the opening of the Elizabeth railway line.

Goodmayes sits between Ilford and Romford in Greater London and some of its residents claim it is a crime, drugs and prostitution hotspot.

Many more people now pass through the town owing to the Elizabeth line, and while some claim this has added more business to the area, others assert the town is "rough" and getting rougher.

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Raj Takkar told MyLondon: "After 11pm at night, there are girls standing on the street corner."

Raj, 66, who runs a café near the station, continued: "There's lots of drugs and less policing in the area for some reason."

"It's a tough cookie to digest", he said, admitting that he wouldn't bring family to the area.

"People have lived here for years and there's a good community spirit among the Muslim community, but personally, I'm not comfortable being in the area."

Others however claim the Elizabeth line is making the area better and busier.

Abhi Sawhney, 28, a long-time resident of Goodmayes says the area has developed significantly in recent years.

"Where somewhere like Ilford is compact and gentrified, Goodmayes is the most attractive place out of the surrounding areas. It's quiet but busy – it's not too overcrowded. You can get everything you need in the local area, I can't fault it really. It's only on the up. Things haven't gone down around here in a while."

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Meanwhile, Kenan Ayhan, 37, moved to the area recently and works in a fish and chip shop.

"It's quite a busy area, people tend to keep to themselves around here, and there's a lot of homelessness and drug addicts if I'm honest," he said.

"I haven't seen any trouble myself but there's lots of rough sleepers and those that use drugs. If a young woman, say my girlfriend, were to walk through here alone at night, I know she would be a bit scared."

This area of London does not have a cool reputation unlike some of its neighbours in East London such as Hackney and Shoreditch and is usually only in the news if a murder or stabbing has taken place, such as in October 2022 when a 60-year-old man was stabbed to death in Goodmayes Park.

Resident Boupacha Leys, however, believes the area is on the up.

"It's definitely busier around here now and it could definitely be a thriving place.Three or four years ago, Goodmayes had a bad reputation but now it's getting better," he said.

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