Big Fat Panda turning into PUB planning application Post Reply

[Kateosharris]

Hi everyone, I wanted to bring to everyone's attention the proposed planning application that is currently being considered that I believe will directly affect our local area and the SW11 streets. A bar group has applied for a change of use of premises where currently The Big Fat Panda restaurant sits, on the corner of Lavender Hill and Lavender Sweep...from a restaurant to a bar. They want to extend the number of patrons significantly and make use of the outdoor space, and have applied for a licence until 11.30pm every night. Word on the street is that they are now submitting a 2nd application for a licence UNTIL 3am! As a predominantly residential area with plenty of families with young children living directly opposite/adjacent to the site, I feel it would have a detrimental affect on the area. Does anyone know anyone that can help us to fight this application, i.e. a planning professional/lawyer or indeed a journalist that can help our plight by raising awareness? Any help much appreciated! If you want to look at the multiple objections the website ref is "2015/0766". Thanks!

[Goldhawk]

Online it says the application has been withdrawn

[Kateosharris]

Thanks Goldhawk. Unfortunately that last application has been withdrawn but is about to be replaced with a new application to have a licence until 2 or 3am!

[Beketaten]

It used to be a bar about 10 years ago (maybe called Bar Coast?) before it was Cafe Med, Need the Dough, Gourmet Buffet and then Big Fat Panda.

I would have no objections to it being a bar again, and the food at Big Fat Panda is vile, so I wouldn't mind it being a different (better) restaurant either.

[BTCdad]

I agree with Beketaten. I despair every time I walk past Big Fat Panda. In general it baffles me why Lavender Hill remains so scruffy. It was probably nicer 10 years ago.

[NYE31]

Don't protest too much or it might become another estate agent!

[pepper]

nice place for restaurant with outdoor space, but I cant imagine have all the noise outside my bedroom until 3am.... so I hope they will find a better idea to do better then big fat panda...

[this_is_cat]

A licence until 3am doesn't mean it will be open until 3am every night, and in common with all the other bars in the area, it will have to have door staff keeping people indoors after 11pm, and quiet when they leave.

I'll be glad to see the back of Big Fat Panda. As others have said, it is grim and a waste of a good space that could be better used.
And it is hardly the only bar in that area. If you wanted to be well away from bars, you wouldn't move to any of those surrounding streets.

[sw11_]

Sorry but I agree. I think it's a great idea to use that site for a pub or bar.

Would be a big improvement on the current place which is pretty awful.

[Kateosharris]

I don't think anyone is disagreeing about being able to say goodbye to the Big Fat Panda! The point of the matter here is that all of the streets off Lavender Hill are 100% residential with many families with young children. The need for yet another (huge) bar in the Clapham Junction area is yet to be justified.

It's all very well saying that you are in support of the bar - but if you lived opposite it, I'm not sure you would feel the same way?! There will be queues of people in Lavender Sweep, drunken behaviour, taxis queuing to pick up and drop off patrons, loud music from in house systems, associated litter and other. We all know that it is impossible to keep drunken people quiet when leaving a bar in the small hours of the morning, whatever rules that are enforced. How anyone can think that is suitable for our residential streets is beyond me! We moved to this street BECAUSE it is residential and would never envisage the Council agreeing to a pub with a late licence on the end of such a residential street!

[this_is_cat]

I don't follow your logic about how this is going to affect Lavender Sweep.
The entrance is on Lavender Hill, people will queue there, taxis will wait there, door staff will tell people to keep quiet there.
Just like they do with all the other bars on the road.

If (and I really doubt they will) your fears about anti-social behaviour come true, then you can report it to the council who can tell a bar to sort it out or face losing their licence, but I'm afraid you just sound very NIMBY

[Seriously?]

I think you have to also consider the vast amount of 20 somethings who live in the area because if offers a lot of good places to socialise, along with excellent transport links. I know that was about the most important thing for me 10 years ago! There is certainly demand for these places, albeit not to everyone's taste.

Yes, the streets off lavender Hill are residential, but it is obvious that the houses are in very close proximity to commercial premises, several of which are already bars, and no doubt this plays a part in their pricing. It is common knowledge that commercial premises change use, and you should always be wary of what they could potentially become when looking at suitable places to live.

I'm sure there will be plenty of locals who support it becoming a bar, and good riddance to the comically bad food of the Panda!

[ally30_1998]

Just had a look at the application that's been withdrawn. It's described as a Gourmet Buffet and the plans show a seated restaurant, main entrance at front on Lavender Hill etc. I don't see how anyone could really object to that. Its been used as a restaurant ever since it stopped being a bank years ago and i agree the site needs some attention.

However,If they have withdrawn it to submit another application for 3am closing then presumably it plans to be an entirely different sort of place and the noise levels are pretty bad in the summer when everyone is outside screaming and shouting and smoking.

As another poster said, this is always something to factor in when you buy a place near a main road. Impact on the surrounding residential roads will probably depend on how good their security is. That said, the best security in the world can't stop people vomiting in your flowerbeds and peeing on your garden walls at 3am.

We are quite close to where all the bars start on Northcote Road but about half way up the hill. We do hear the patrons if we have our windows open in the summer - but we sleep in the back and rarely have the front windows open anyway because of security. Actually, what is more noisy is the bottles being tipped at 1am !

Anyway, summer is noisier, everyone has their windows open and everyone is outside. It's not just the noisy bars. Frankly the population of under 5's could give them a run for their money in terms of decibels and they start at 7-8am on a Sunday - now that's anti social

I guess we will have to wait what the new application shows. In answer to the person who said lavender hill is tatty, in my memory its always been quite tatty! its worse of late due to amount of empty units, but i dont think its ever been really smart!

[Sagittarius]

I agree with everything TomandBobby said. We live close to Battersea Rise and the behaviour of the people leaving the bars is terrible. No matter how upmarket the place is, drunks will be drunks and will behave unpleasantly. We had "young professionals" throwing up on our doorstep, urinating in the front garden and being generally abusive when asked to leave. The "respect our neighbours" stickers displayed by most bars go ignored. With regard to music, I can tell you from experience that customers regularly manage to open the fire doors, as a result loud music will be blasted out in the middle of the night. The staff will rush to shut the door, but the neighbours will still be woken up on a regular basis. If I lived close to Big Fat Panda, I would definitely object.

[Denwand]

Well it makes a nice change, usually the hoardings outside some beautiful old pub say " Coming soon! a block of six residential flats!"

I must say your title "turning into a PUB" (your uppercase) says it all - it's not going to be a waste incineration site and the site has been used as a pub/bar before.

Of course we can all sympathise -nobody wants anything noisier than a funeral parlour anywhere within 500 meters of their house but you do live near to some 'lively' roads and buying near an ex-pub running as a restaurant does run the risk of it reverting to it's old use.

I'm afraid, as the previous poster said, it seems like pure NIMBYism.