The good news of cheaper costs for property buyers in New Addington was tinged with disappointment last week when the area was branded one of the most deprived in the country.

Mixed reactions came as the news that New Addington and Fieldway wards have qualified for the Chancellor's stamp duty tax exemption on properties worth up to £150,000, because last year they registered among the bottom 15 per cent of the country's most deprived wards.

Residents and councillors in New Addington and Fieldway mostly welcomed the perk, which could mean a saving of between £900 and £1,000 on an average three-bed house.

But they hoped the news would not revive the depressing light in which they feel their area has been portrayed in the past.

Gillian Edwards, chairman of New Addington Residents' Association, said: "It is about time something was given to us instead of being taken away but I think it makes it look like things haven't improved here, you just have to take a walk around to see that it has."

She added: "I think it's a very good idea which will benefit people across the ward, especially those who are just starting out and those who are still exercising their right to buy their council home."

Fieldway councillor Jim Walker said many people buying in the area would be better off because of the high proportion of properties worth under £150,000 but warned the public not to assume the area is a no-go zone.

He said: "I think residents do find it annoying when New Addington is portrayed in a bad light, but at the same time many of them will benefit.''

The regeneration minister, Lord Falconer, claimed the scrapping of the one per cent bracket, effective from the beginning of December for residents and businesses, would trigger an "urban renaissance" and investment in poorer areas.

December 6, 2001 11:30