Don’t get that the more retail units the better love to have those shops close by
Well it is nice to have a selection of shops nearby but the sheer lack of imagination and the lack of variety in these shops leaves me cold.
A car park, and Aldi and a SGN unit - hardly inspiring is it, it’s not like it is going to become a destination spot for locals and tourists. Do we really need another supermarket right next to the existing supermarket - is this what we really want or need in our locality? It seems like the easiest, cheapest, most unimaginative option possible.
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I would agree but it is a retail park so I don’t need anything fancy there luckily we have dartmouth road for the more inspiring options
Agreed this is not imaginative. With the area under pressure to provide extra housing this should be mixed development at least.
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Very good point - surely Lewisham could make up its housing quotas here and avoid taking chainsaws to One Tree Hill and surrounding green space.
In fairness, I do not think that Lewisham intended putting housing next to HOP station, in fact their policy backs this up. It is an unverified neighbourhood plan that proposes this:
The point is still valid though: given a choice, housing development in backland areas or other green space in an urban area is surely less appropriate than on top of a one storey supermarket for instance. I wonder if the council is even able to make a condition for this.
Frankly I’d welcome an Aldi or a Lidl in the area. Both consistently top consumer polls for quality, price and service.
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Cinema and a TGI Fridays.
Pop corn, get your pop corn here!
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Well there are two Lidl stores not far away if that is your poison - Both are within a brisk stroll of the proposed development so I don’t think an additional Aldi really adds much except competition…
Neither are in SE23 but then again Sainsbury’s isn’t either. Personally I rarely use any supermarket so an additional Aldi is of no interest but if it has to be something like that then a SeeWoo or Wing Yip would be nice and would offer something different.
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I hear that the Safeway Coop Somerfield Morrison Budgen in Sydenham currently available. That would make a good spot for Aldi. Leaving the gas cylinders available as an cinema (inside the cylinders).
However, a better idea for the failed supermarket site in Sydenham might be to turn it back into a cinema:
(image from https://lewishamlostcinemas.wordpress.com/lewishams-lost-cinemas/)
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Unfortunately without easy car parking nothing other than Express style stores are likely to succeed. The Budgen store is probably too large to be useful for that. As for a Cinema again no easy parking the one at the rear of Lidl is a pain to get out of if you want to turn right on exit. Plus Cinemas are suffering most films go to video fairly quickly and the costs are fairly prohibitive. If there was a case for a cinema the Capitol in FH would probably be a better choice no parking but easier transport links.
I think we have to face the reality that out of town retail parks are the future so my thoughts are conversion to housing/flats then perhaps a small retail unit or restaurant would be sustainable on the lower level.
You’re right of course. Lidl should close both and centralise here with a larger offering.
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I don’t think the parking is too bad for the Safeway site, a small detour via Newlands Park gets you onto Sydenham Road. No worse than the detour to get in Sainsbury’s car park in Forest Hill - which incidently would provide a convenient car park for The Capitol Cinema in Forest Hill.
I did suggest housing above the proposed Aldi at Bell Green (as I mentioned above) but they don’t currently want to do this despite the precedent set by Sports Direct site next door.
It’s not habitable because of the cost of clearance makes it unattractive.
From within the South circular it is a significant hassle to get to the car park - out onto the South Circular (which hardly needs more traffic) and back in again. I can only draw the conclusion that the Council would be happy for the High Street/London Road to fail as a shopping/entertainment venue - then they can justify building more votes (social housing) on the Sainsbury’s/car park site and make us all go shopping in Bell Green.
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I don’t really get the problem with the ‘detour’ into the FH car park. It isn’t really a detour. It’s where the car park is situated. You are already in your car, getting to the car park is just part of your journey, no? It seems like hassle because there’s only one way to get there. But once you are there, it couldn’t be more convenient for Sainsburys and the rest of FH is within a short walk.
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Agreed. But it would be a lot more convenient if the parking meters worked more reliably. Last time I was there they were both broken - and my phone battery promptly died so I couldn’t even download Ringo (or whatever it’s called). It was too risky to park for the 10 minutes I needed so I had to find a space in David’s Road and scrounge any change I could find in the car.
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There is always the car park behind the station.
If both the meters are broken I would assume you don’t have to pay (please correct me if I’m wrong). Not everyone has a smart phone so the Council can’t make Ringo a default if the meters are out. In that situation I put a note in my windscreen with the time and date. LB Lewisham can check the machine logs against any claim that they were not working. I’ve done this successfully in the past.
In any case, we seem to be drifting off the topic here.
I suspect that this is a form of land banking. They will make a better profit by waiting for further uplift? I don’t know what can be done about this but it is a big problem all over London.