Is it possible to stay put when you're near London?

[Tarrel]

I grew up there (went to Greenshaw!). I think I know roughly where in the Borough you are living from your description, though I might be wrong!

I can think of worse urban places to bug-in. Plus, if you pick your route carefully, you're really not that far from open countryside in the Banstead / Woodmansterne direction.

A lot of fairly mundane problem scenarios can be turned from a right pain to just a minor inconvenience by having some basic preps as discussed on here; keeping a decent store of food, having a few 20 litre containers of water, water purification tablets (from Boots), keeping the car full of fuel, keeping some cash to hand in a concealed place at home. This would go a long way towards riding out a fuel shortage, power cuts, interruption to the food supply, water cut-off, bank crisis, etc. without having to leave the house for a week or so. Therefore you avoid the difficulty of, say, having to go and queue for food/fuel/cash while trying to look after young children, and you miss the unpleasantness that can arise is these situations.

The nightmare scenario that many people have is a break down of law and order in their immediate vicinity. The London Riots showed that this is indeed a possibility. In this eventuality you might need a bug out plan as well, involving taking the essentials that you can carry, and leaving.

Multi-layered plans for multi-layered scenarios is the best bet. "If X happens, I plan to do this. But if then Y happens, I'll plan to do that. Etc."