In an article published last month about the top 10 London suburbs to visit and top five to avoid, The Telegraph named Surbiton in its avoid section. 

Writing about why readers should avoid Surbiton, The Telegraph said: "In the 1970s, Surbiton so embodied suburban life that it provided the setting for The Good Life. Not much has changed."

However, Kingston Nub News asked readers if they agreed with the paper's claims, and out of 140 responses, many of them said they disagree, saying that the town has changed a lot since the 70s..

Sharing their thoughts on Surbiton, one local resident said: "I've lived in the borough all my life and in Surbiton since the mid 80s. It used to be a genteel place for old people (my great aunt lived here in the 70s). 

"Then the housing boom in the 80's and the beautiful Victorian and Edwardian houses carved up into flats (my first purchase). 

"There was more independent shops back then, butchers, bakers, and greengrocers. 

"But the boom brought more people travelling to the city, which made it a more diverse place to live (a plus) but priced out the smaller businesses (definitely a minus). I guess it's progress and things cannot stay the same. I still love the place though."

Another resident added: "I think areas with plenty of entertainment, restaurants pubs and bars have always attracted trouble from the outside. Streatham was the same from the '80s.

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"Saturday night in Kingston / Surbiton is to be avoided otherwise after 25 years it's still a great place to live."

A third said: "It's not bad at all. I'm sorry about the loss of the Chinese restaurants but there are some nice pubs & very pleasant residential areas."

While some readers suggested that Surbiton has in fact changed for the worse, the majority praised the town for its safety and claim that it has much changed since the 70s.

 Also among The Telegraph's top five London suburbs to avoid are Anerley, Croydon, Edmonton, and Harlesden.

The paper also named Surbiton as the UK's "most boring town" in June last year.