‘Little Portugal’ under threat as rents soar

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

London’s ‘little Portugal’ could disappear as soaring rents are forcing many people out of the town, residents have warned.

The streets of Stockwell are lined with Portuguese tapas bars, bakeries and supermarkets.

Many families arrived in the area in the 1960s and 1970s, attracted by its growing Portuguese community and cheap rents.

Lambeth, the borough Stockwell calls home, has about 27,000 Portuguese speakers – making Portuguese the second most spoken language in the borough after English.

But residents say rising rents in the area, which is just over five minutes from Central London by Tube, are forcing many of the Portuguese community to leave Stockwell.

The average house price in the area soared 62 per cent between 2012 and 2022, from £389,422 to £632,574, according to figures from estate agents Foxtons.

Property prices peaked in 2021, when the average buyer had to fork out £731,447 for a home.

Jose Albuquerque, 45, owner of the The Three Lions Portuguese restaurant in South Lambeth Road, said his rent had recently shot up by an eye-watering £750 per month.

He said: “The rent I used to pay in three months is now gone in two months. Because of the cost of the rents a lot of the Portuguese people are now going to live in Streatham, Norwood and Crystal Palace. I am going to try and stay for at least another five years.

He added: “You lose a bit of one type of customer and you get another. But it’s not what it used to be when it was more busy with Portuguese people. This area used to be a chippy area, and now it’s more VIP.”

A short walk north is Pinto’s Portugal tapas bar and restaurant. Jose Pinto, 67, opened the eatery in 1984 after moving to Stockwell five years earlier and claims it was the first of the numerous Portuguese restaurants which now line the road.

Four years ago, he passed the running of the business on to his daughter. But Mr Pinto still helps out and is well known to customers.

He said: “Stockwell is much better than it used to be. It’s like the West End now. There used to be vandalism and riots, but that has stopped in the past 15 years.

“This was the first Portuguese coffee shop when it opened but now there’s loads. I don’t feel threatened though. I just care about what we do.”

In nearby Clapham Road towards Stockwell Tube station, Adelino Mendes, 58, owner of Serrana Delicatessen said he wished independent shops like his got more support from local politicians.

Mr Mendes, who has lived in Stockwell for 28 years, said: “I want to expand but we’ve never had any support. I even had to unblock the drains outside myself. It’s better now but we’re forgotten about.”

Around 7.2 per cent of people speak Portuguese in Stockwell North, the ward The Three Lions and Pinto’s Portugal falls in, according to recently released 2021 Census figures.

The area has the most Portuguese speakers in South London and among the highest number in the capital after parts of Hounslow, Southall and Wembley.

Pictured top: Jose Albuquerque behind the bar at The Three Lions Portuguese restaurant in Stockwell (Picture: Robert Firth)