Peckham and Camberwell - The New Brockleys

Bruce Wayne - age 8: Did you build this train, Dad?

Thomas Wayne: Gotham's been good to our family, but the city's been suffering. People less fortunate than us have been enduring very hard times. So we built a new, cheap, public transportation system to unite the city.

- Batman Begins

And so it begins. The paint has barely dried on our funky new East London Line-orange station signs before the hype machine has moved on to Peckham and Camberwell, beneficiaries of line's further extension to Clapham Junction.

Artists? House prices? These changelings are stealing all our best lines.

The New York Times has proved itself a fickle friend. Having done Deptford and New Cross, it's now lauding Peckham and Camberwell as the homes of the hip:

But now as young artists flock to Peckham, attracted by large spaces and low rents, and Camberwell’s residential boom has led to a commercial one, the area is emerging as a go-to cultural destination. And the planned expansion of the East London Line, connecting Peckham and Camberwell to the London Overground system, should help attract a new wave of Londoners.

City AM has also stuck to what it does best - hyping areas of London to City boys in search of a good investment. These lines may sound familiar:

With the opening of a segment of the East London Line extension this week, Hackney, Wapping and Shoreditch just became a lot more desirable.

Yet the best property moves are made well in advance of such obvious bonuses, so if you’re looking to buy now, consider the areas of south-east and south-west London that will be connected to Surrey Quays when the rest of the line is completed in 2012. The line will begin at Clapham Junction and stop along the way at currently unconnected spots such as Peckham Rye, Denmark Hill and Queen’s Road Peckham.