So the high street is beginning to look nice with all the shiny new paving slabs. Nicely cut and snuggly fit around existing street furniture - like the lamposts.
But why oh why wasn't the work coordinated with the lamppost replacement work?
Now it looks like the slabs have been ripped out and the new lamposts put in with tarmac and presumably the old posts will be ripped out at some stage and filled with tarmac as well.
Please someone tell me Riney will be going back and re-doing these surrounds properly even if it seems double the effort or are we stuck with a patch work effect even before the improvement work has been completed
Arrgh!
That new 99p shop is a disgrace. Who was the bright spark that allowed them to set up there? Now tonight on my way home I saw that they had put a counter on a wooden pallet on the pavement As well as a cage containing brooms etc.
not only does it look terrible but it is causing an obstruction on the new pavement which is not very wide at that point. Surely there is a law against pavement obstruction.
Why is it that in other suburbs the residents can object to things like Starbucks and we can't get rid if this crap! It's a bloody disgrace and I hope the Porthas recommendation is to get rid of it and those awful kiosks.
Regarding displaying goods outside a shop on a pavement, it is my understanding that some shops pay rent to the council for an allotted amount of space outside, so they're not, or shouldn't be, taking any more space on the pavement than they are paying for, which will have been factored in on the pavement design improvements. As far as I know there is no restriction on what can be displayed outside, within reason of course.
It seems quite reasonable to me that shops with restricted indoor space for bulky items will want those outside, and of course will be the items least likely to attract grab-and-run passers by. In some ways they don't accurately reflect the amazing variety of useful items sold within such shops which probably many would spend hours and P&P online (or driving around) looking for, but I guess it is for a shopkeeper to decide what he displays The only way is to go in them and see what they sell. You might be surprised.
I understand it if there is room and the display adds to the aesthetic of the shop/street but in this case the pavement is quite narrow and they have simply stuck a counter on a wooden pallet as a phone kiosk (as if we need another). It is both unsightly and an obstruction IMO.
If I was Smart Chaps I would be upset.
Anyway the shop adds nothing to the High St. We have enough shops selling those type of goods and theres a huge and much better one in Penge. I wish the Council would read my thread on the High Street wish list which contains lots of enthusiastic suggestions from lots of residents.
