Streetlife

awd, you canny blame everything on landlords.. I am sure there are other factors as well like people buying new shoes instead of repairing them...especially in Northcote area..

Very sad that they have gone - we used them alot and will now try the one just over the traffic lights in st johns road no doubt it will become either another cafe, estate agents or chain.

Kate M - the cobbler in St John's Road is a good one - he isn't expensive but does a first class job - he also tells you when it isn't a necessary expense to have shoes mended which won't last long anyway.

You can also use Mathews nearly opposite Clapham South station

Shahid: many of the small, long established shops in the Northcote area have closed because, at the end of the lease, the rent rises have been unaffordable.  If people are making a living out of rental income and do not care about the community (whether retail or residential), how else do you describe it.

Southside has already gone, Tooting looks to have started the process, Northcote Road is largely gone.  Just because the likes of Starbucks can pay more rent, doesn't mean that landlords have to be bought.  This is, of course, assuming that they are making some profit by maintaining the status quo.

Despite the fact that the Northcote Road area is very affluent, the traders are suffering. The rents were astrononical a few years ago and now that times have changed, and trade is slower, many businesses cannot sustain the rents. Look above eye level and see how many assignment/to let boards there are. 

I have recently joined the Antiques Market on Northcote (upstairs) and it is so quiet some days. I suppose it is the inevitable belt tightening.

I suppose the message is that people should use it or lose it. I do always try to use a local shop/tradesperson where I possibly can, rather than a chain. That is where this forum comes into its own, recommending shops or people which have provided an excellent local service.

the italian dely went down

ice cream replaced it

So much easier to sell home made ice cream rather than importing dely food from italy

it is all about natural elimination of the shops that cannot  upgrade and modernize

it is sad but it is like that

so went the carpet shop
Those shops have no clue
So now an estate agent
of course
most places now are worth 1 m
so it does atract the putas

who is next? on the NCR
?

Tony? Doves?. i doubt it.  although doves just makes prices as the boss wants, the guy who inheritee the shop

I saw him recently telling a 7 yo boy that the eggs had gone up.  makes me feel sick 

In Italy you pay to the mama before you are delivered

The shops in the ncr that are desappearing are the shops that are dead
or ther ownwers

:-0

apologies for the masive spelling mistakes

Northcote Road has changed byond recognition since I first moved to the area, and not for the better in my opinion!  Walked along the other Saturday and it now has none of the old character of old days, sorry if I sound stuck in the past but find it now just "posey"!

Margaret - I can go back some 55+ years (when I would start to remember the road) and the traders there were back then .. proper stalls that sold everything fresh - no market on Monday because they couldn't get fresh produce.  The shops were a by-the-by ... but they were 'proper' shops - and shops that the local folk could afford and the produce they wanted - meat, fish, bread etc.  In came the more affluent folk who bought the houses and up went the rents in the market.. until none of the old traders could get a look in and the shops went.  This was before the days of the Rent Tribunal when you could object to ridiculous hikes in rents. 

The road has evolved with the residents.  I am sorry for the lady at the antiques market - I feel sorry for anyone willing to 'have a go' but an antique shop isn't something which would ever have been on the horizon.  A pawn brokers may be .. with the influx of the money came the change.  It is still evolving.

Vivian B re the antiques stall please don't be sorry for me. I was not complaining as I am delighted to be there, have been on the waiting list for 3 years and am only a month in. I am loving it and selling  a few bits and bobs - all is well thus far but times are hard even in a "posh" area.

I was only posting an anecdote, heard from various people I have met since being there, who have said many of the shops at that end of the road are having tough times. 

Fingers crossed people continue to treat themselves occasionally!

Cattle Grid has now gone!!

Looks as if it has burnt
Went there once
rubbish!

Southfields has also changed.Sainsbury has just opened creating havoc at a major junction with deliveries.
Tesco will be opening soon and have applied to have double yellow lines on a side turning (so a loss of parking spaces) so their lorries can manoeuvre without difficulty.
Waitrose are also coming in a year or so after re development of th Post Office and adjoining building.
All that can be asked is that the People use their local shops as much as possible or they will totally disappear .
Oh we also have about 7 estate agents and one other rumored to open shortly.

Only a few years ago we had a Northcote Road Action Group...we worked hard (lots of meetinggs, petitions etc) to find some way of stopping the tide from coming in. The Council appeared to be on our side...probably was...but in fact could do nothing. Owners of buildings can do almost anything they want ...nothing to stop them knocking two shops into one which in my opinion has had the most negative effect on the road. There are a few landlords who own a quantity of shops in the road and therefore can fix the rents without competition. Sadly it is a lost battle.
The Carpet shop told me that they owned their property so I guess they had an offer they couldn't refuse; another b. Estate Agents... and it can't be stopped. Te Deli owner told me that he could have afforded the increase but it would have meant renewing the lease for 7 (I think) years and all in all he had chosen to pack it in. Probably wouldn't have done if the rent had been reasonable. The Hamish whatever cheese shop has been under threat for some years with the council having refused the landlord an unreasonably greedy Planning Permission which would have seen off Hamish.
Like Portobello Road...now a trashy tourist market laced by lots of chain stores...money eventually kills the goose that laid the golden egg!

I am sorry to hear about the the shoe menders going but I have to say there were moments that 'cash only' was a tad problematic but i do agree the street I live off 30+ years ago seems to have gone, so sad as it was perfect then, lots of proper stalls mostly at the weekend but a few during the week and plenty of choice of independent shops.

Today I see the KEW 159 dress shop is having a closing down sale and will be gone by the end of the month.
One of the traders told me that the  major supermarkets are desparate to get a foothold there and Tesco nearly succeeded recently....

Bunty - are you talking about Kew on the Northcote?

Julia - you are one of the main mentors of the area - how sad it is to see the Northcote falling apart as we see things.  Obviously there is now a new generation that is happy with the way things are going so I  suppose we should accept everything gracefully and lose everything we have fought for.

I,m afraid that Northcote Rd is a victim of its own success, it is not just the rents that are high, the rates are crippling. When we left our rates were just under £3k per month and from next year the cost of Cross Rail will be added to the rate bill.

If we had stayed in Northcote Rd we would have had to increase our prices by about 20% to remain viable, but the market would not stand even a small increase. So it was either move or close up. We decided to move to St Johns Hill and the rent from Northcote Rd helps to keep our prices competitive.

Chris Crow, Capitol Carpets.

It is progress - I disliked every incarnation of the Northcote Road (and other street markets - Battersea High Street is another example of 'progress') but it is popular with lots of folk.  I would prefer to go back to the makets of the late 50's ... but I would imagine I am one of a very very small minority.

I went into Kew yesterday and was told that so far the sole contender for taking over the premises is a woman who wants to open a childrens clothes/toy shop .............................. with the opening of the childrens' learning toy centre in the old Fenwright premises at this rate the whole row by Sebastian will be child related.  Such a shame we cannot add some different attractions to the neighbourhood and bring in more food etc but it looks as though this is not to be.