Bell Green Gasworks site

ALIB · Post by **ALIB** » 4 Nov 2006 22:32

Extra bum on seats indeed!! hope you are not referringto the homeless!!

bigissew anone?

leaf · Post by **leaf** » 4 Nov 2006 22:54

i was referring to MY bum!!

Magx1 · Post by **Magx1** » 5 Nov 2006 13:18

You seem to have a thing about Bums Leaf!

Sorry all,
As for the debate about the Bell Green area,
at last something is being done.
It's all very well putting it off for years, but at the end of the day it had to redeveloped i'd rather see that! than a lot of rubbish shoved over a broken down fenced off area

Greg Whitehead · Post by **Greg Whitehead** » 5 Nov 2006 17:01

Well put ALIB, the let's all argue with Greg thread. I shouldn't worry, this forum is littered with examples of that little clique closing ranks, toadying up to each other and trying to shout down any opinion that buttresses up against their 'informed' view. I think Bryan's little crew will find theres some stamina in this one (you know who you are). They've gone a little quiet of late so perhaps they're all sitting round a table right now formulating their latest witty riposte (not in a local establishment you understand, far be it for them to support anything in the locale - unless it's near their beloved Wells Park).

Watch this space for developments, I think we'll find measures will be implemented in the future that ensure the SydScoc will indeed become more 'battling' rather than it's current beleaguered state (and yes, beleaguered is a very apt moniker).

castiron73 · Post by **castiron73** » 20 Nov 2006 13:44

Is it just me, or does the proposed development look like a giant dog turd?

Perhaps it's going to be the new symbol of Sydenham, rather than the Crystal Palace

leaf · Post by **leaf** » 20 Nov 2006 16:48

Annie · Post by **Annie** » 20 Nov 2006 18:39

better than all the c**p that has gathered on the site over the years though

bp · Post by bp » 30 Nov 2006 23:29

im not saying that having sydenham re-developed is a bad thing, but what about the 2 shops that are left on the bell green parade?
whose shops have been there for so long and most of the people in sydenham go there to get there clothes dry cleaned or pick up the morning paper,once the retail park comes in what happens to the shops on the parade?

castiron73 · Post by **castiron73** » 1 Dec 2006 10:46

Castlemore don't care about existing shops. We have family in Boscombe in Bournemouth. A few years ago Castlemore built a huge shopping centre nearby, called Castlepoint, basically a carpark surrounded by a monster Asda, M&S, B&Q, Sainsbury's and lots of other high street stores, but all on a massive scale.

Boscombe was already down at heel but this has been the nail in the coffin. M&S closed down their Boscombe branch, despite assurances they wouldn't. It's now full of pound shops and fast food takeaways.

Shortly after, the Bournemouth newspaper ran a competition to name the new road at the end of the eight-lane dual carriageway that leads from Boscombe to Castlepoint. We thought Fuctboscombe Avenue might be fitting.

stringfellow · Post by **stringfellow** » 1 Dec 2006 13:49

You're not wrong. I lived in Maidstone until a couple of years ago, they decided to build a great big new shopping centre on the edge of town (even though they already have a giant indoor shopping centre which is half empty) and a main drag street of shops.

The new shopping centre is all shiny and full of chain stores but devoid of customers and now the main street is full of pound & temporary shops selling tat to anyone that will buy it. The old shopping centre ihas become a kind of cheap gold jewellery and card shop ghetto.

I think any improvements are good but it would be a shame to see the useful shops on Sydenham high street and surrounding area's (of which there are actually quite a few) suffer or worse close.

Anyway, there is a Homebase in Penge, surely we don't need another one?

leaf · Post by **leaf** » 1 Dec 2006 16:33

With respect i really think people are getting a bit carried away with this whole thing,how on earth is a homebase store being all the way down the road going to affect the sales in the high road shops,which offer totally different products?

If i want to buy something in homebase,i go to homebase,if i want to buy something in a local shop i go to a local shop,they have their own repective uses.

castiron73 · Post by **castiron73** » 1 Dec 2006 18:01

Tell that to Payless DIY

Juwlz · Post by **Juwlz** » 1 Dec 2006 20:26

Maybe the high street can thrive despite the Bell Green development if the shops don't try to compete with it. They should concentrate on the kind of stuff that you can't get from big chain stores. I find that the current high street doesn't sell enough of the kind of stuff I want to buy anyway. The book shop is great and the DIY shop is very good too, but they sell things that are not weekly essentials. Even the pound shops aren't as good as the ones in Penge! There needs to be a butchers, preferably one like the one in East Dulwich. I went there last weekend to order my Christmas turkey only to find that they've got too many orders (over 500) and aren't able to take any more!!

bp · Post by bp » 2 Dec 2006 17:29

i wasnt referring to the shops in the high street i was referring to the shops that are in lower sydenham opposite the sainsbury, what will happen to those shops?

leaf · Post by **leaf** » 2 Dec 2006 17:44

In 1995 they said all of this about the 'new' savacentre opening,it was going to kill the high street etc,it didnt and that was when the shop that was opening was going to be selling stuff that the most of the high st shops sold,how many diy shops are there in the high st?

if this new homebase was going to take its custom from the diy shop in the high st,then the homebase in penge would have done that already,its not that far away.

Juwlz · Post by **Juwlz** » 2 Dec 2006 17:54

bp

I wouldn't have thought that Bell Green centre will have dry-cleaners or newsagents. As far as I'm aware its going to be a Homebase and other stuff like DFS-type shops which aren't going to directly compete with newsagents etc. so presumably this wouldn't affect those businesses. I hope not anyway otherwise they should get compensation!

Pat Trembath · Post by **Pat Trembath** » 3 Dec 2006 09:12

When the Savacentre opened in 1995 there was a large increase in vacancy rates in the high street, somewhere in the region of 15%, as well as closure of many of the local shops in the parade at Bell Green. The high street took several years to re-establish itself. Meanwhile resultant closures meant loss of family businesses and full time jobs.

A Homebase could have a similar effect - d-i-y, plumbing, curtains, kitchen ware and a long Christmas season - even the pound shops might be affected. A combination of Sainsburys and Argos (owners of Homebase) and about four other large warehouse retailers will be working hard to persuade local residents to shop at the new retail park.

At a time when there is a prospect of an improved high street environment we cannot afford to have a lot of boarded up shops.

AVManning · Post by **AVManning** » 8 Dec 2006 16:09

I'm obviously something of a philistine too - I am in agreement with Mr Whitehead. I'm afraid I struggle to see any beauty in the site in its present condition - surely practically anything will be an improvement? I'm not convinced we need a Homebase there though, I'll risk raising the wrath of everyone by suggesting a........cinema. There isnt one in the entire borough, failing that can't the one in Catford be reopened?

leaf · Post by **leaf** » 8 Dec 2006 16:53

I think the old cinema in catford is now a church[?]

I would love to see a cinema in lower sydenham,save going all the way to greenwich or surrey quays to see a film.

Big Ben · Post by **Big Ben** » 8 Dec 2006 17:24

In the early 90s there was talk of a cinema (and other leisure uses, such as a bowling alley), but these never materialised - presumably because the developer could not find clients. Since then multiplex cinemas have gone the way of many other large-scale enterprises and the trend now is back towards town centre cinemas (eg the refurbished Greenwich Picture House). The Broadway in Catford (aka Lewisham Theatre) generally has films Tues/Weds/Thurs each week - in my experience a really nice place to go (in the evening you can park in the council car park off Canadian
Ave).

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Bell Green Gasworks site

extra bum on seat!!

Bell Green Gasworks Site