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i live in forest hill but got to know portland road a little when i was delivering bread for a few years and it was on my route, and also when a friend managed Oceans Apart pub...also know someone who lives behind Gold Coast...i need to move quickly and im seriously thinking about off Portland Road (for financial reasons)... theres no getting away that is down at heal and its got worse recently - even things like the little angling shop have closed

have you any ideas what the council are planning? I cant imagine anything would help. Its an architectural issue as much as anything - it just doesnt need all those shop fronts, and cars cant pull up outside them. If you look at a successful local street like Lordship Lane in east dulwich (which even before it became gentrified had lots of surviving local shops), the road is wider and has parking....seems to help
 
BigMoaner said:
they should turn the shops into flats on portland road. it'll never change
Click to expand...
the thing is theyve done this in a couple of shops but theyve done that horrible version of it where it looks like its boarded up iykwim
this kind of thing, but often worse
48024_1772_IMG_00_0001_max_656x437.jpg
 
ska invita said:
the thing is theyve done this in a couple of shops but theyve done that horrible version of it where it looks like its boarded up iykwim
this kind of thing, but often worse
48024_1772_IMG_00_0001_max_656x437.jpg
Click to expand...
there's just not the footfall. shops will open up on the norwood junction high street, but never down there. so it's write off. turn them into flats and provide more affordable homes.
 
BigMoaner said:
there's just not the footfall. shops will open up on the norwood junction high street, but never down there. so it's write off. turn them into flats and provide more affordable homes.
Click to expand...
i agree, but i wish they'd do the conversions in a way that looked nice, not that keep the boarded up feel. The same happened on my local parade - shops were shutting, they did these horrible flat conversions that look horrible - now the parade is "thriving" (well, functioning) and these shit flat conversions look shitter than ever.

Theres got to be a way to refashion it nicely....
 
I think they could be successful if, as people are saying, it was easy to park. I like the comparison with Lordship Lane, which was pretty tatty and now is completely trendy, with successful pubs in amongst all the trendy shops and cafes, too.

I was upset when the model shop shut, actually, but I agree that it was a shame when the angling shop shut, more recently.

It is possible that the opening up of Stanley Halls will help someway towards a regeneration, if people start coming over there and looking for cafes and shops and things as well. But it needs some serious investment and some innovative marketing and brave business people to take the plunge, and it needs locals to support the businesses on the road. Like the new bagel shop, and the couple of cupcake cafes which have opened, I suppose.

I know quite a few people who are househunting on the roads around Portland Road, and I think it is a wise move, as the rail links if nothing else will make the area increasingly attractive and, as more new and energetic/enthusiastic (?) people move in, this should help the area revive?
 
i wouldn't want SE25 gentrified. i want to be able to afford to live here. i want my daughter to afford to live here. coffee shops and flash pubs? not interested. a few coffee shops and everything will be 40% more expensive, property/rent wise. have people not see the angst on the brixton forum?

all i want is for people to care about their front gardens and for their to be less fly tips.
 
Guineveretoo said:
I think they could be successful if, as people are saying, it was easy to park. I like the comparison with Lordship Lane, which was pretty tatty and now is completely trendy, with successful pubs in amongst all the trendy shops and cafes, too.

I was upset when the model shop shut, actually, but I agree that it was a shame when the angling shop shut, more recently.

It is possible that the opening up of Stanley Halls will help someway towards a regeneration, if people start coming over there and looking for cafes and shops and things as well. But it needs some serious investment and some innovative marketing and brave business people to take the plunge, and it needs locals to support the businesses on the road. Like the new bagel shop, and the couple of cupcake cafes which have opened, I suppose.

I know quite a few people who are househunting on the roads around Portland Road, and I think it is a wise move, as the rail links if nothing else will make the area increasingly attractive and, as more new and energetic/enthusiastic (?) people move in, this should help the area revive?
Click to expand...
thing is with house hunting on portland road, if you;'re down the ohter end towards woodside it'll be another half hour on the bus to norwood junction!
 
thornton heath is cheaper than south norwood and way off anyone's radar (long may it stay so!) and has about as much to offer as south norwood next door
 
BigMoaner said:
i wouldn't want SE25 gentrified. i want to be able to afford to live here. i want my daughter to afford to live here. coffee shops and flash pubs? not interested. a few coffee shops and everything will be 40% more expensive, property/rent wise. have people not see the angst on the brixton forum?

all i want is for people to care about their front gardens and for their to be less fly tips.
Click to expand...
I don't think anyone is saying that we want coffee shops and "flash pubs" - I'm certainly not, and I wouldn't go to either!

But, when I moved here 14 years ago there were at least 5 pubs on that road, none of them flash. Now there are none. I think that's a shame.

I also think we should support attempts to run small businesses in the area, and anything to open up boarded up shops. If it was a vibrant, busy area, perhaps there'd be less fly tipping, and fewer gangs.
 
Last edited:
I saw this gem of an article on the esteemed http://southnorwoodtouristboard.com/ and had to post it.

Through The Wormhole!
April 4, 2015 by southnorwoodtouristboard

Scientists conducting research in South Norwood believe that they might have uncovered the first firm evidence of the existence of wormholes; dimension crossing tunnels connecting two separate points in spacetime.



Professor Brian Cooks, from the Institute of Photogenic Physics took time out from his research to try and explain it to us,

“Until now, researchers have had no observational evidence for wormholes, but the possibility of a traversable wormhole, stabilised in a shell of exotic matter, was first demonstrated by Kip Thorne and Mike Morris in 1988. While the person inside the wormhole will experience time in the normal way, the bend in spacetime might make it appear that they have travelled between points at faster than light speed – and we believe we have evidence of such a wormhole existing between South Norwood and Crystal Palace.”

But what evidence does Professor Cooks have for such an extraordinary claim?

“Physicists have long thought that identifying wormholes would rely on us the identifying anomalous effects they cause rather than the wormholes themselves – and recently an unexpectedly large proportion of people have been found wandering around South Norwood believing they were actually in Crystal Palace! We have two working theories to explain this at the moment; 1) people are suffering from some mass geographical delusion, or 2) there is a traversable wormhole linking both places and people are inadvertently falling between them.”

The South Norwood Tourist Board spoke to a Mr Nathan Wellbeloved, who we found looking slightly disorientated by the clock tower.

“Well that would explain a lot,” said Mr Wellbeloved on hearing about Professor Cooks’ theory. “I came out to get a skinny latte and some organic wheatgrass and I’m going home with a bucket of fried chicken and a haircut. Very good value though and I’ve had a nice time. I think I’ll travel through the wormhole again next week!”

Ms Elsie Foxx-Tone, a local estate agent was keen to highlight the increase in property prices that would result from a wormhole between South Norwood and Crystal Palace, “As we know the property market has been quite buoyant of late and a wormhole between Crystal Palace and South Norwood would certainly provide a boost to house prices in the area. With a bit of luck I might get a new BMW out of it!” Ms Foxx-Tone enthused, “Furthermore, if we could move the wormhole over a bit to platform 6 ½ at Norwood Junction we would fall within the catchment area for Hogwarts – and you know how much a good school can put on the price of a house!”

Professor Cooks intends to continue his research throughout the summer.

“Ideally I’d like to gather some more conclusive data,” he said, “Maybe I could find some of these confused people and conduct some more in depth research on them? I’ve got some spare pens in my lab, between the smoking beagles and the alcoholic greyhounds.”

“To be honest,” admitted Ms Foxx-Tone, “I don’t know what exotic matter is – but I’m sure we’ll be able to get some once the farmers’ market opens.”
 
In fact, I should declare an inside knowledge, here, as I am a trustee at Stanley Halls, so I was part of the decision making to allow the pop up cafe.

It is for 10 weeks, but one of those has already been spent on decorating and equipping the (previously derelict) space. It is a young couple, who don't have much money, but are wanting to have a go at running a cafe. They are using their own money to decorate and equip it, and are doing the work themselves, with a bit of help from some of the trustees. They have a small child, and the mother is trying to find a way of making a living. I am not convinced that the cafe will be it, personally, because it will need a lot of punters to let it make a profit and, after the 10 weeks, we will have to charge a commercial rent.
 
ska invita said:
i live in forest hill but got to know portland road a little when i was delivering bread for a few years and it was on my route, and also when a friend managed Oceans Apart pub...also know someone who lives behind Gold Coast...i need to move quickly and im seriously thinking about off Portland Road (for financial reasons)... theres no getting away that is down at heal and its got worse recently - even things like the little angling shop have closed

have you any ideas what the council are planning? I cant imagine anything would help. Its an architectural issue as much as anything - it just doesnt need all those shop fronts, and cars cant pull up outside them. If you look at a successful local street like Lordship Lane in east dulwich (which even before it became gentrified had lots of surviving local shops), the road is wider and has parking....seems to help
Click to expand...
If you moved to south norwood think of all the birds in the country park! Squeeee
 
they must have spent a few quid on gutting it out, redec,

that's a lot of coffees to sell to break even! still, you never know.

has anyone seen the great IBS bakery way down in selhurst, miles from any life? really frustrating that they couldn't have plotted up in either Thornton heath or SN high streets. Really nice breads and cakes. I give it a year max :(
 
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