ArchieCarlos

Hi The 20p charge is for receiving SMS reminders from Paybyphone. You can turn this feature off and the parking will actually be free. Paybyphone is awfully slow at processing payments and if you close the app/lock your phone before it’s done doing that (while still on the buffering wheel logo), the payment won’t go through and parking won’t be registered. Sometimes it takes 2-3minutes for the payment to go through. If you follow my advice above and get actually free parking, there is no payment processing and you get instant confirmation.

Good news! After reports that it was not happening, the fruit & vegetable merchant Taylor's of Maltby Street will be opening in Dulwich Village after all. They announced this week that they were closing their Maltby St shop and working opening in the old Jigsaw show on the North parade asap. They've just created an instagram account for it https://www.instagram.com/taylorsofdulwichvillage/ It will be great to have an alternative to the expensive and average quality SimplyFresh in the village.

Indeed Tesco will replace Poundland soon. They've asked for permission to add an ATM

An absolute specimen decided yesterday to ram the plastic fences by Derwent Grove and drive his Golf over them

That Co-op is such a depressing shop (like all Co-ops sadly) I wouldn't mind seeing it replaced by something else. Even a Tesco would be nicer, which is saying something!

Went to try Hausu this weekend, the restaurant which has replaced the Peckham Coal Rooms inside Peckham Rye Station after they closed down. We had a really good meal, served with very friendly staff. Trendy and creative modern British food in the same vibe as Levan, with an interesting selection of wines. The strawberry eclair for dessert was divine, I wish they would sell it as takeaway! Only criticism is no coffee at the end of the meal as the coffee shop at the front is on a separate lease that still has a few months to run before they can take over. I wish them much success.

Foxtons is well known for overvaluing. A good approach is to contact 3 agents in your area and ask them to do a valuation. If you see notable differences ask them to explain, they shouldn’t mind doing that. Look at who is often selling local flats similar to yours on Rightmove or Zoopla.

Old Spike is great. Also Redemption Roasters in Dulwich Village

Hopefully we will see something like Melbourne Grove, where all the shops that initially closed after the road closures were then replaced with new ones. I think all the units on that street are now finally open for business.

Here's a working link: https://www.propertywire.com/news/london/circa-london-partners-with-developer-to-sell-9-6m-dulwich-townhouses-to-far-east-buyers/ I think they look quite nice from the outside which is what matters to me as a member of the public. The indoor floorplan is not to my taste with lots of awkward small floors, but I don't care about the inside as I don't plan on living in them.

Oh! That's surprising as they had a sign saying they are closed for an exciting refurb, although it's been in that state for many months now. Romeo Jones also closing permanently this week. Maybe these closures will open up a space for Dulwich Village to finally have a great restaurant (though Romeo Jones' unit seems too small for this kind of use) Still waiting for the grocer to open in the old Jigsaw shop. Inside it's all been refurbished but still empty since the DE announced it in January

Please bring this to Dulwich Village - we only have cafés and chain stores and could really do with some retail dynamism ! There's so much disposable income in the area, but so few good options to spend it.

Hi Malcolm, thanks for the recommendation. Would you say Jovaner is someone who usually works from drawings and architects specifications or can he do some of the design work himself? Scale-wise, would you say he is well-suited to room refurb or also to do full builds from scratch? Sorry for the specific questions but that would help me assess what sort of work I could use him on! Many thanks.

I do not share these concerns. Are you worried about it?

I recently saw that Nelly's has been bought by the PE-backed nursery megacorp Partou and I'm wondering if any of the parents sending their kids there have seen a difference? I'm concerned about staff leaving, corners being cut, this sort of thing! Any feedback appreciated!

The reason why this time it feels believable that it will actually happen is that the council has at last awarded the contracts for the works to BAM Nuttall.

Surely this post is satire or ragebait?

I've recently noticed that a lot of the white post chain fences around Dulwich are broken, felled, have missing chains or detached chains, etc. I believe the Dulwich Estate is responsible for taking care of those, but does anyone know how we report these maintenance issues to them? I'm guessing that FixmyStreet would send it to the council who would say it's not their job...

I expect it will be faster once the works are done. Right now the lights cycle between each of the 4 directions before opening out to pedestrians. Once done, it should be a 2 way light, so the waiting time for pedestrians (and cars!) should hopefully be halved

I used Mason & Green a few times for the airport and would recommend. Cheaper than Addison Lee but equivalent standard. Very punctual. Professional drivers. Can request baby or child seat if needed

I am delighted to hear the development was approved. In my opinion, the UK is building far too little housing. And unless we build on green belts, the only solution is to increase the density of our cities, which is exactly what this scheme achieves. Where I'm from (France), planning is generally looser and in my home city it's common to see single dwellings being razed to make way for a 5-6 story block of flats, even in city centres. Does it change the character of the local area? For sure! But I don't see another way to provide the supply to meet demand and provide ample supply of housing for a growing population. My personal experience is that in the UK, there is a lot more time spent on consultations, on achieving a perfect outcome for everyone. This results in generally better and more harmonious building than in France, but it makes things slower and more costly, with the need to coordinate many consultants. It's interesting to compare France and the UK as they have similar populations and population growth, with an economy centred on a huge capital city. When you look at the number of houses/flats built in France and the UK over the past 10 years, the result is pretty striking. # France UK Difference 2023 298,100 150,370 -147,730 2022 392,100 182,070 -210,030 2021 410,000 177,160 -232,840 2020 368,800 129,440 -239,360 2019 387,700 153,000 -234,700 2018 401,200 168,610 -232,590 2017 434,700 164,110 -270,590 2016 370,000 155,150 -214,850 2015 341,000 148,150 -192,850 2014 336,900 140,760 -196,140 2013 357,900 124,790 -233,110 2012 382,300 101,020 -281,280 Total 4,480,700 1,794,630 -2,686,070 Average 373,392 149,553 -223,839 When HS1 was built, the French engineers (it was built with the French high-speed signalling) were surprised at how Brits wanted to "gold-plate" everything. The UK arguably has the best, most effective, more reliable, more well-equipped high-speed line in the world, but we've only got 68 miles of it and it cost 2.5 times what it cost the French to build a line extension at the same time. In my view, there's no magic wand: just deciding who will be the losers. In France, people in established neighbourhoods my lose out as they see them change dramatically, while the new entrants benefit from a much higher supply of housing (and thus cheaper housing). In the UK, we give greater priority to preserving the lifestyle and amenity of the established dwellers over the new entrants who lose out as the supply is choked and prices are higher. A final point of comparison would be the price per square foot of property in Greater Paris is £467 while in Greater London it's £667 - 30% cheaper!