milly51

Yes it is true!!! A WEDDING VENUE. Having spent years avoiding The Plough Pub as it was known as a geezer/ fighting pit our desperate bit to find a venue led us there. We braved a visit to discover a GEM. We were looking for a place to hold an informal wedding reception of 80-120 people and the Plough Pub on Lordship lane fitted the bill exactly. It is split in two by a lovely bar. We chose the large room next to the left. It is has muted chic Victorian interior with panelled columns and exposed brick work. Lots of quirky tables, standard lamps and sofas. There is a dance floor area with potential use of the pubs own decks and sound system. Mark the Manager accommodated our two live bands, his chef put on a fabulous spread of healthy food for 100 people plus evening snacks. (They even obliged me with wheat free and veggie options). Mark and his staff prepared punches and toasts. They worked as a team tirelessly and all with smiles. We had a wonderful wedding reception and the bar service was smooth. I recommend you give the new revamped pub a try. Great garden, kid friendly, live music, good loos, and serve food all day, good bar snacks. THANKS TO ALL THE STAFF AT THE PLOUGH. We'll be back many times

Well in my humble opinion a lot of new builds are just glorified mouse houses. All you are getting is a few millimetres of carefully chosen paint colour and a bit of slick design with the use of Industrial/ chic materials. These trapping will fade in a few years. You are investing in surface polish but polish tarnishes very quickly. I see it all the time cladding coming away, slick sheen surfaces covered in crud, shadow gaps swelling around windows and the public spaces becoming shoddy. It is unlikely that your freeholders interest in the exterior will remain, will they update the property in the future so it holds onto its cache. When these blocks are sold it is then a case of minimal maintenance from the freeholder. Maintenance is only as good as the leaseholders lobby group in your block. Modern finishes are expensive to repair. Period property always remains just that - a property of period. Some folks say that the new builds will be the slums of the future.

I seriously hope you have your facts right. My objection is that East Dulwich is great because it has very few high street chains in it. The best way to keep it maintained as such is not to use them. I only go to small concerns and avoid larger chain stores. eg Sommerfields, Caffe Nero, Foxtons and that dreary clothing place opposite Foxtons are all good examples.