A beautiful village where everyone knows each other feels so safe one local said they could leave their front door open and no-one would break in.

Being a resident in Barnes is like living in a rural village but it is as little as a 20-minute train journey from Waterloo, according to residents, and it has been dubbed a greener Notting Hill.

And there are so many independent businesses in Barnes, it topped a UK league table for having the highest concentration of them in 2014. Locals are so passionate they even objected to the recent opening of a Tesco Express in the area.

Church Road, Barnes. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite

People living and working in Barnes told the Local Democracy Reporting Service everyone loves living in the pretty village but warned the area is very expensive and its 'biggest problem' is the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor traffic. Homes in Barnes had an average overall price of £1.38million in the last year, according to Rightmove.

Church Road, Barnes. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite

Bruna Wenzel moved to Barnes from Clapham around six months ago. She said: "It's definitely a village. If you go around it's like small businesses, everyone knows each other, we greet each other on the street – everyone basically knows everyone, at least from sight."

Bruna Wenzel at The Sun Inn. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite

Bruna is a manager at The Sun Inn and said most of the popular pub's customers are regulars from Barnes. "It's an area that's really taken care of, so it works perfectly. Everybody that lives here really loves to live here, there's some older people that say it's the best place in the whole of London, so peaceful, tranquil," she said.

"Right away if you want to be in the city you can, but in your everyday life everyone loves being around here."

Compared to Clapham, she said: "There is more youth, a bit more party, pubs, bars, a bit more lively in a way. Here is a bit more like a community, more families, everything shuts down a little earlier."

Local Annaline Barry, 40, called the area 'super friendly'. She said: "I love Barnes. It's like a village and it's so sociable. It's a bit like Notting Hill but it's greener and it doesn't have as much traffic. A lot of people haven't heard of Barnes so because of that's it's mainly the residents around here but on the weekends it's more touristy. We're between the church and the pond so it's a lovely village-y feel."

Annaline Barry, 40, at Wild Bush Barnes. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite

She added: "A lot of people have never heard of Barnes. Before I moved here, I had never heard of it. It's kind of like London but it's a village – 20 minutes on the train [from Central] and it's like you're in the country, with tree-lined roads and everything."

She continued: [In] Richmond you get a lot of theft, it's more town-y. Here, you feel like you're not in London, you're in a village. There's not much crime here. It's the kind of place you can leave your front door open and no one will come in, or a window. It's not like normal London."

Annaline works at dog grooming studio Wild Bush Barnes. She joked: "Everyone in Barnes has a poodle, so it's really good for us. It's the place to meet for dogs. We're doing really well, actually so much so that we've opened another branch in Richmond." The business also has a branch in Putney and a doggy day-care centre in Chessington.

Ranjit Kaur, 25, works at new Indian restaurant Elā & Dhanī and said residents are so passionate about supporting independents they are unhappy about Tesco opening locally. "They think Tesco is here, it's directly affecting the local business," Ranjit said. "So many people are not happy. So many people said 'why are they open here' like… it's not good for the local business. OK, but business is business. They are open now."

Ranjit Kaur, 25, at Elā & Dhanī. Credit: Charlotte Lillywhite

Ranjit said locals are so nice they will go out of their way to help businesses. "People are very cooperative. They think 'oh you need our help', they are coming, seriously, they're coming for takeaways, for dining, everything."

But the school holidays can be a difficult time for businesses, Ranjit warned. She said: "Very rich people live here. That's when they have one house here, one house over there… one two-week [school] holiday and they are gone, nobody's here, I think. No phone calling, no takeaway, no online delivery – nothing, seriously."

After 9.30pm in Barnes 'you'd think nobody's here', she added. She continued:"10pm people are sleeping. Even I go sometimes [to] the city like 11pm, 12am, 1am – people are just chatting, chatting, chatting. But [here] not even a single person is on the road."

Barnes residents are not on the sharp side of the cost of living crisis, according to Ranjit. She said: "Other people [are affected] – like 'recession is here, oh we are not spending money'. But these people [are not affected], they have big, big banks."

She added: "This area is way expensive. If you want to rent one single room, it's so expensive. Even we are living far from here. We travel everyday one-and-a-half hours [from Southall]." The restaurant has also been hit by rising costs, with its electricity bill rising from £700 to £1400 or £1500 a month.

Meanwhile, some independents have called Barnes home for decades – including The Real Cheese Shop, which opened around 40 years ago. Jill Bates has worked at the shop for almost as long and said: "Some of us have been here a very long time. Obviously certain shops come and go, but there isn't a huge turnover."

The 67-year-old lives in Isleworth and travels to Barnes for work, while her parents also used to live in the village. She said the area is "like an island so [residents] do actually like to shop locally".

"It's quite a buzzing little place because it's pretty and you've got the river and people come for a day out," she said. "Barnes can be a little bit of a destination so, especially at the weekends, I think people come to Barnes because we've got a little market and it's really quite jolly on a Saturday morning."

But the area's 'biggest problem' is the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to motor traffic, she cautioned, which has been 'very unfair on Barnes'. She said: "The only way people can get through now is [to] go through Barnes to get to Putney to go to Putney Bridge… that's where the traffic's come from."

She added: "It's not people in their cars. It's people that are delivering things but they've got to – I mean, shops have got deliveries, I've got to have deliveries, Sainsbury's have got to have deliveries. But all the shops from here all the way through to Putney have to use this route."

On the complaints about the bridge, a Richmond Council spokesperson said: "Barnes is a beautiful part of the borough that is popular with residents and visitors alike, for its proximity to the river and local attractions including the London Wetland Centre.

"We know that the impact of the closure of Hammersmith Bridge is felt by residents and businesses. Richmond Council does not have any responsibility for Hammersmith Bridge itself, but continues to work with Hammersmith & Fulham Council (who own the bridge), TfL and the Department for Transport (who are part funding repairs) to ensure the bridge is reopened as soon as possible.

"The council is focusing on the Castelnau Parade as part of its public realm improvement programme, and ran a consultation earlier this year to hear residents' and businesses' visions for the area. We know that rising costs present an additional challenge to businesses on this parade, throughout Barnes and indeed across the country.

"Richmond Council is supporting local businesses through an intensive, year-long Shop Local campaign to encourage residents to use their local businesses. The council also maintains a business hub page which lists advice and help available to businesses.

"The council is also about to embark on a night-time strategy where we will look at everything that happens at night across the whole borough, including seeking the views of residents on night-time activities, night-time economy and aspirations for their local area."

A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said: "Hammersmith Bridge, built in 1887, is one of the world's oldest suspension bridges whose wrought iron structure is riddled with 70 years of untreated corrosion. That is why it is one of Britain's most expensive and complex to repair.

"It is part of Britain's engineering heritage, a national landmark as well as providing a major regional commuter route into central London for people in Barnes and beyond.

"We have been told by the government to pay an unprecedented 33per cent of the repair bill which would normally have been paid in large part by Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport (DfT). We cannot find any precedent for such a vast 'local contribution'.

"So we share the frustration of Barnes residents and businesses which is why we are already getting on with the fixing the bridge as quickly as possible – deploying world-leading engineers and risking our own upfront investment – despite the conditions imposed on us and the unprecedented demand on our residents for a vast local contribution."