Balham High Road Shops may Disappear!

by **Martina1** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 9:07 pm

Oh dear God! We can't lose Bucci's!

by **balhamwilbur** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 6:20 pm

That would be absolutely awful and depressing - have spent so many happy evenings at Buccis with family and friends. I hope they are are able to keep their lease somehow.

by **this_is_cat** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 12:54 pm

Big retail tenants need more than shop frontage - they need delivery access, including for lorries, stockroom space etc. It wouldn't just be a case of knocking down internal walls.
Without knowing what is at the back of the parade, it is more difficult to rule in and rule out.
Also, the blue cycle lane passes outside it, which may have some impact on whether the council would allow deliveries to the front of the store, where large lorries unloading/pulling out/parking would endanger cyclists using the lane.

by **this_is_cat** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 10:59 am

There is already an Argos a few metres away. I'm not sure they'd be interested in taking the site!

by **DianneA** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:59 am

If the leases are covered by the Landlord & Tenant Act 1954, then the tenants may have certain rights regarding their occupation. If the landlord is proposing to redevelop the site, then it is possible the leases can be brought to an end, but formal noticed must be served by the landlord and retain conditions met.

I am a property litigation lawyer and deal regularly with these types of issue. If the tenants require advice, please let me know.

by **schoolgatesmum** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 8:42 am

Landlords can't not renew leases unless the tenant has not complied with contract or unless the landlord is taking possession of the property. They usually therefore try and raise the rent so much that businesses can't afford it. It is really worth those businesses fighting it - they have more rights than they are probably aware of.

by **jonkemp** » Mon Mar 30, 2015 1:47 am

They have not been told what is going to happen....
just your leases are up...

by **Goldhawk** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 8:16 pm

What is the landlord going to do instead?
One massive shop unit?
Change of use to residential only?

by **Clare Lupton** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 7:36 pm

That would be such a massive shame - I was so sad and disappointed when Tony's on Northcote Road had to shut - It's the independent businesses that make things interesting and build community.

by **jonkemp** » Fri Mar 27, 2015 12:09 pm

Hello

I have been told by one the business's on Balham High road that the property company that owns the block of shops opposite Du Cane Court are thinking about not renewing the leases. Effectively we can say goodbye to The Laundrette, Bucci, The Dry Cleaners, The Nightingale, Flower shop, Noels studios and the Spicy noodle bar! The Excelsior club is already closed....

Talk about stripping the life out of the community.... all in the name of rising rents! Many of those businesses have been around for decades.

I have lived here for 16 years and am getting increasingly fed up (to put it politely) with seeing the area ripped apart and replaced by the big corporate chains.

'Bland' is something I thought London would never be...

What do people think of 'gentrification' ?