6 Lordship Lane (& other shop planning applications)

[MadWorld74]

I actually like it empty. It gives the road a mysticism and an olde world charm that is being destroyed by the likes of the all-singing-all-dancing-in-your-face Foxton's.

[Jeremy]

I'm sure macroban could tell us what it used to be...

[Ultraconsultancy]

I can tell you it's been empty for at least eight years...

Ultraconsultancy

[macroban]

I think I remember it was the local milliner's. I could be wrong - my memory's not so good these days.

The William Rose premises was the local cycle shop.

The Mrs Robinson's corner unit was the local pram/toy shop. The side window had a penny-in-the-slot model railway. The brass slot was still on the window frame a few years ago.

[Jeremy]

Wasn't the William Rose store also breifly a ladies underwear boutique recently? It lasted about 4 months.

[SeanMacGabhann]

I think it was a little longer than 4 months but not much - apparently it sold some good stuff but it had the appearance of being really cheap and nasty

[AnnieFen]

we are currently looking for a site (see a recent thread) and I wrote to all the local retailers asking if they knew of any leases coming up. I got a call from the lady and she was not very pleasent at all. Told me that there is no way she will rent it out as ED has been ruined over the last few years and she wants to see more mobile phone shops going in...On a separate note of 6 Lordship Lane it will not be a restaurant as the council did not approve A3 use.

[Asset]

more mobile phone shops???? You could tell her that's what you are going to open and then not - ha ha.

[James]

Oh if only we could get East Dulwich back to the good old days with a few mobile phone shops (eh!?)

[TJS]

Looks like this has gone under offer now (http://www.hindwoods.co.uk/property-details.cfm?propertyID=1176) - any ideas?

[mamafeelgood]

i don't get hindwoods or what is going on with the 3 'under offer'/'sold' empty shops up by SMBS, the cafe and video store. there hasn't been any work done on them and signs have been there for ages...

the old women sounds mad, but then they often are. i can't see how she can complain about a quality butchers but hey it's her shop to do as she pleases and clearly she's no interesting in pleasing anyone else.

maybe we could get the council to do what they did in hoxton: for a while empty shop fronts or the shutters they put down were given to artists to decorate. looked rather good.

[Louisa]

The elderly lady who lives next door to rip off William Rose has every right to demand that customers do not queue outside her property. Screaming toddlers on a Saturday afternoon, loud mouth yuppies buying venison for a dinner party. I'd be tearing my hair out every day. It is not too difficult to be courteous and respect those who were there before you.

I find the suggestion that she should be forced to let out "prime commercial property" totally ludicrous too! What sort of country do we live in? Good luck to her I say, she should remain as finicky and non co-operative as possible. I really cant stand that butchers. Bermondsey '2 for 1' style meat market trying to rip off the wealthy with hooky organic meat. It's just not on.

[SimonM]

This would have been a fine old rant had you simply defended the woman's right not to let out her commercial premises if she so wishes. I too would defend anyone's right to behave irrationally as long as noone else is harmed.

But "ripoff Wliiam Rose" - which is cheaper than Sainsbury's but has meat of better quality?

The queues always seem very civilised and jolly to me...and it's a communal pavement in a busy shopping strip, so there's bound to be a bit of noisy coming and going.

As for "hooky organic meat", I do hope William Rose have a sense of humour and are not too litigiosuly-minded...

:))

[Louisa]

I never suggested Sainsburys was not a rip-off SimonM! Far from it, but I shall save that for another thread.

I'd love to know what a civilised queue looks like too. I guess it's the opposite to one which is uncivilised.

I'm sure William Rose have a sense of humour, they must have if they can sell 'organic' meat... hehe

[bald marauder]

Louisa, I don't get your 'organic' meat reference.

Are you suggesting it isn't organic? Or that all meat is bad?

[SeanMacGabhann]

And just when I was about to say it's good to have Louisa back once again..

no-one is ripping off anyone Louisa - if you go to a Bermondsey 2-for 1 meat market (and hands up I haven't, but if I have been to many a butcher in East Ham and Peckham) what is the difference - is it just price?

I for one don't get too worked up about the organic tag - but a well fed, well cared for animal (let's say a chicken that doesn't spend it's whole life enclosed and sleeping on it's own faeces while pecking it's neighbours eyes out) is not only preferable from a moral point of view, but from a selfish, health and taste point of view

Are you an advocate of the Asda ?2 chicken? Possibly, if one is on the breadline and has little option, then it serves a purpose - but to be able to afford better does not mean you are ripped off

I had a friend bemoan the whole "rip off culture" of good meat so I cooked a meal with 3 breasts - 2 decent breasts and one cheap one (she said she preferred cheap). Cooked on it's own the cheap breast might have looked "normal" but cooked next to the 2 decent ones it was so obviously wrong (hissing water, strange colour etc) it already looked dodgy. When she tasted the difference that was teh end of the argument

The queue at William Rose has always been consistently good fun - ie a civilised Q. An uncivilised Q? You really need examples?

Are you coming to the birthday do Louisa - please so. When you meet some of us I'm sure you won't be so quick to judge

(As for the woman who owns the property next to William Rose - it would appear that she lives upstairs (judging by the frontage) in which case why is she so different from anyone else who lives upstairs in flats above property on LL?

And braying yuppies buying venison for dinner parties? Nowt wrong with venison but as someone who doesn't do parties and is (I would hope) far from a yuppie, such generalisation would get short shrift from you if it was pointed the other way

[Asset]

She will judge Sean, even more so probably.

[Louisa]

I make sure aways by the best quality meat, and I usually attend a decent butcher. Wha gets me so worked up is that a traditional local butcher like W Head and sons was based at Peckham Rye for over 100 years, and was forcedto close due to a lack of customers. William Rose jump on theorganic band wagon and exploit the gentrificaton of ED by opening up and selling meat in a traditional setting under the 'organic' label. W Head was selling quality meat sourced from some of the most ethical farms in the land, and non of the locals helped out that family business stay above water!

The Same is happening with F C Sopers of Nunhead. Now that the posh Moxons has graced LL, everyone abandons a local family business. The organic label is in most cases just that - if you go to a good quality butchers the meat is almostalways sourced from ethical and high quality farms.

I know the history of William Rose and this is why whenever the name pops up it makes my blood boil. But dont get me wrong. I think they have a brilliant business mind. I just hate the idea that people on the forum can support them and their business plan over the issue of the elderly lady, who is probably a long standing resident.

[Jah Lush]

But Louisa those butchers shops you mentioned were in Peckham and Nunhead. Where may I ask was there a decent butchers in East Dulwich? If my memory serves me right there hasn't been a butchers shop on Lordship Lane for nearly 20 years. But please correct me if I'm wrong.

[Louisa]

Peckham Rye and Nunhead is hardly a million miles away is it? All the years that there was no local butcher or fishmonger in ED saw people shop at Sainsburys rather tan travel to support a local business. Its less than a 20 minute walk from ED to these places Jah.

[Jah Lush]

I agree with you it's true these places are only down the road and perhaps a lot of the newbies are unaware of these places but why shop in Nunhead or Peckham when you have a perfectly decent butcher right on your doorstep.

[Asset]

I did travel to the fish shop in Nunhead. I found it rather expensive and not fantastic. I now have a much closer fish shop to patronise that always sells me good quality fish.

[SeanMacGabhann]

There is a lot of truth and weight in what Louisa says - what's missing is the idea of embracing change and welcoming relative newcomers

Where we differ is this idea of migration and people moving - I, for example like doing it, and experiencing others. My hometown in Ireland has changed tremendously and all for the better because of migration to it...

If William Rose is seen as a "newcomer" then so be it - I bow to no-one in my advocacy of walking to good local shops and shunning the car but with a place as good as Rose on my doorstep, why would I? (and I ask that with an open mind, not to ne "funny" - if there is a genuinely good reason to go the distance I will)

[bald marauder]

F C Soper makes fantastic home-made taramasalata and great herring roe - but for fish in general, Moxons is streets ahead, it has some of the best sushi grade tuna in London. It's a fact of life that the best shops in any category tend to gravitate to an area where people can afford to shop there. That's why there's Kenzo and Issey Miyake in South Ken - but not in East Dulwich.

[Louisa]

The genuine reason to go the extra distance was there, but certain snobs locally feel the need to denigrate something if it isnt trendy or from clapham, hence why W Head and Sons went under three years ago.

F C Soper isnt overpriced and it does sell high quality fish. Just because it doesnt cater for poncey people who enjoy sushi and live on planet la la shouldnt be a good enough reason to put it down (and judging by the opinions of certain folk I would suggest this to be the case).