Incoming vibrancy from the council!
The document does score quite highly for players of Bullshit Bingo, but most of the analysis of strategy and most of the recommendations are quite sensible.
The proposals to reduce the proportion of shop fronts around Streatham Hill that are limited to retail looks dramatic on the map but is probably a reflection of the reality for Streatham as a suburban High St after Lambeth failed to attract a bigger retail "anchor tenant" than M&S food into the redevelopment of Caesars/Megabowl. (And with hindsight, we could now have been looking at a closed Debenhams/House of Fraser???)
It is annoying and insulting that Lambeth are running (yet another) consultation over the summer holidays (ends 23rd August).
The local community forum (Streatham Action) held a public meeting at short notice last week.
Main issues I took away from it:
An alarming statistic that the number of creative businesses in Streatham has actually *fallen* in recent years (have people been priced out by housing and now setting up in Crystal Palace???)
Lambeth needs to be clearer how the changes affect small businesses in town centre fringe locations that don't have shop fronts and where landlords are looking for residential change of use;
What are they going to do to keep the remaining large office buildings in employment use so that there are still daytime shoppers/customers?
Lambeth are still obsessed (after 30 years) with the idea of redeveloping Streatham Hill station when there are other "opportunity sites" that could deliver jobs/homes more easily.
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