Postby David » Tue Feb 05, 2019 4:43 pm
Not looking as bad on the St Johns Road though - a new ice cream shop Amorino has just gone in for planning, more or less opposite Pret (the smaller corner unit) - they have a few other shops across London and more widely. Speaking of which, that branch of Pret seems to have been very successful - it's busy every day of the week.
Debenhams is the big risk factor for the whole retail centre (in terms of its ability to draw in a market beyond the immediate residents - which is quite important for the area as a whole), though the Clapham Junction branch certainly pulls in the numbers (not quite the layout they'd really want, but nonetheless visibly busier than Wandsworth branch and many others round the country) it'll all come down to the passing rent.
The prominent (and eyesore) former Carphone Warehouse corner unit has also just gone in for permisison for conversion - to become a new branch of Dexters estate agents. Their other Lavender Hill branches are tidy and presentable (as one would expect for an estate agent), so we can count on the premises looking rather better than they did under Carphone's tenancy. At some stage I expect it will be redeveloped more comprehensively, like the neighbouring properties, to add floors and (hopefully) make it a bit more in keeping with the other surrounding buildings.
