Curse of gentification

[sally buying]

After serving the local community for more years than I can remember Mr Patel's, as he is locally known. will be forced to close his newsagents shop due to the rent being put up to unaffordable levels.

Bellenden Road as a current "fad road" has not helped local business once their leases come up for renewal.

Loss of a very local and much loved business.

I wish him well and thank him for all the past years he has served the community.

He/Wife will be missed.

[DulwichFox]

sally buying Wrote:

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> After serving the local community for more years

> than I can remember Mr Patel's, as he is locally

> known. will be forced to close his newsagents shop

> due to the rent being put up to unaffordable

> levels.

>

> Bellenden Road as a current "fad road" has not

> helped local business once their leases come up

> for renewal.

>

> Loss of a very local and much loved business.

>

> I wish him well and thank him for all the past

> years he has served the community.

>

> He/Wife will be missed.

Gentrification to satisfy the whims of the few (often from out side the local community)

to the detriment of people who have lived in the community all their lives.

Community Cleansing. It's criminal.

DulwichFox

[SpringTime]

Oh dear. Which one is Mr Patel's?

[edc]

SpringTime Wrote:

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> Oh dear. Which one is Mr Patel's?

Yogi News, the newsagent/store beside codfellas.

[alex_b]

Sad to see a local shop close, but I do wonder how Bellenden Rd ever managed to support three newsagents/convenience stores (Yogi, Village Grocer and Bellenden Food & Wine).

[Abe_froeman]

"serving the local community" is a bit rich too. A 'newsagent' is as capitalist as any other enterprise, out to make a profit from the local punters flogging them fags and booze and assorted sundries.

So-called gentrification isn't the problem for these types of business. The biggest issues are 1) nobody pays for 24 hour old hard copy news in print any more, 2) nobody buys specialist magazines any more because the internet covers all bases, 3) smoking is banned and is a dying art (literally), 4) young people today have better thkngs to do than go to the corner shop, buy some beer and stand outside drinking it, 5) old people can buy their beer cheaper and just as easily at a 24 hr supermarket etc etc

All the advantages a convenience store like this once had have gone but it isn't because of gentrification.

[Angelina]

your opinion or fact??

It may well be that a business makes a living but is priced out of an area by increased rents - which are due to poshing-up an area.

Or it may be that rents are the same but takings are down for the reasons you say (and/or......)

Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an area making it slightly sterile. The local businesses can't afford it, chains move in, rents/ houses go through the roof (which pleases owners) but the other side of it is reality - people without/ thefts / crimes etc.

I've just seen a 3 bed flat for rent for over ?2,400 a month. This is Peckham ffs.

[Loz]

Angelina Wrote:

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> Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an area

> making it slightly sterile.

Or a cleaning of an area to make it safer and nicer. All a matter of perspective, really.

[Calsug]

Your opinion or fact as well!

Personally walking down lordship lane you see much more variety and independents - have you been down a "normal" high street recently which is full of multiple Pret A Manger's, costa, Starbucks etc

The owner of My local corner shop told me he now has over 100 different craft beer and they "fly off the shelves" in his words. He went on to add that the neighbourhood has changed dramatically in the last 10 years but is now much safer to live in etc... now I don't like craft beers but clearly he has adapted and survived and is doing well from it

gentrification is always seen with such hostility but please don't try to dress it up as the death of a neighbourhood it's just the changing of one.. plus why do you think Peckham has got expensive? it's because it used to be an afluent area and as a result has a lot of large sized Victorian housing stock...

Angelina Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

>

>

> Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an area

> making it slightly sterile. The local businesses

> can't afford it, chains move in, rents/ houses go

> through the roof (which pleases owners) but the

> other side of it is reality - people without/

> thefts / crimes etc.

>

> I've just seen a 3 bed flat for rent for over

> ?2,400 a month. This is Peckham ffs.

[hammerman]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention sally!

[hammerman]

Abe_froeman Wrote:

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> "serving the local community" is a bit rich too. A

> 'newsagent' is as capitalist as any other

> enterprise, out to make a profit from the local

> punters flogging them fags and booze and assorted

> sundries.

>

> So-called gentrification isn't the problem for

> these types of business. The biggest issues are 1)

> nobody pays for 24 hour old hard copy news in

> print any more, 2) nobody buys specialist

> magazines any more because the internet covers all

> bases, 3) smoking is banned and is a dying art

> (literally), 4) young people today have better

> thkngs to do than go to the corner shop, buy some

> beer and stand outside drinking it, 5) old people

> can buy their beer cheaper and just as easily at a

> 24 hr supermarket etc etc

>

> All the advantages a convenience store like this

> once had have gone but it isn't because of

> gentrification.

Oh dear! I love to read a hard copy of a newspaper everyday.

And what do you mean about 'old people'?

[fishbiscuits]

It is of course sad when a hard working man is forced out of business, and he has my sympathy.

But gentrification can also be an opportunity if you're willing to move with the times. Look at the costcutter on Bellenden Rd... there's a permanent queue in there. Too many people stick to their guns instead of embracing opportunity.

[JohnL]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Angelina Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an

> area

> > making it slightly sterile.

>

> Or a cleaning of an area to make it safer and

> nicer. All a matter of perspective, really.

I think Costa on Rye Lane is overflow for Wetherspoons sometimes :)

I like the little coffee shops though - the one opposite my flat had written on it "patrons welcome to stay all day" (don't know if it's still there as it's only small).

[DulwichFox]

Loz Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Angelina Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

>

> > Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an

> area

> > making it slightly sterile.

>

>Or a cleaning of an area to make it safer and

nicer. All a matter of perspective, really.

Safer ? Nicer

There has NEVER in the history of East Dulwich been more Burglaries.. Robberies.. Attacks on the person..

Bike Crime... Littering ... Dog Fouling .. as there is today..

I have lived in the immediate area for 37 years..

DulwichFox

[El Presidente]

Gentrification, for lack of a better word, is good. Gentrification is right, gentrification works. Gentrification clarifies, cuts through, and captures the essence of the evolutionary spirit. Gentrification, in all of its forms...has marked the upward surge of mankind.

[peterstorm1985]

DulwichFox Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Loz Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Angelina Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> >

> > > Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of an

> > area

> > > making it slightly sterile.

> >

> >Or a cleaning of an area to make it safer and

> nicer. All a matter of perspective, really.

>

> Safer ? Nicer

>

> There has NEVER in the history of East Dulwich

> been more Burglaries.. Robberies.. Attacks on the

> person..

> Bike Crime... Littering ... Dog Fouling .. as

> there is today..

>

> I have lived in the immediate area for 37 years..

>

>

> DulwichFox

I've only lived here for 30 years and perhaps I arrived at a particularly nasty time but I know that I feel much safer now, and I spend far less on taxis because I'm much happier getting off a bus or walking from the train station late at night. Of course certain types of crime have increased, if only because there weren't any smart phones 30 years ago, but I remember the frequency of the yellow crime boards that thankfully are now a rare sight.

I agree entirely with Abe; unless reinvented as something else, the typical newsagent has too few customers to sustain it, whatever the rent may be.

[HelBel65]

fishbiscuits Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> It is of course sad when a hard working man is

> forced out of business, and he has my sympathy.

>

> But gentrification can also be an opportunity if

> you're willing to move with the times. Look at the

> costcutter on Bellenden Rd... there's a permanent

> queue in there. Too many people stick to their

> guns instead of embracing opportunity.

Agree. A good example is the Forest Hill supermarket on FH road. Stock has clearly adapted and changed for the clientele but it hasn't lost its ethnic roots. Love that place.

[jimbo1964]

Agreed. They do a lovely range of gluten free crisps.

[Earl Aelfheah]

I don't understand why people who have moved into an area aren't considered 'part of the community'. After how long are they designated part of the community? If someone moved in 10 years ago for example - are they still an interloper? The issue with rents is part of a wider issue of dysfunctional property and land values.

[JohnL]

peterstorm1985 Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> DulwichFox Wrote:

> --------------------------------------------------

> -----

> > Loz Wrote:

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> > -----

> > > Angelina Wrote:

> > >

> >

> --------------------------------------------------

>

> >

> > > -----

> > >

> > > > Gentrification tends to be a cleansing of

> an

> > > area

> > > > making it slightly sterile.

> > >

> > >Or a cleaning of an area to make it safer and

> > nicer. All a matter of perspective, really.

> >

> > Safer ? Nicer

> >

> > There has NEVER in the history of East Dulwich

> > been more Burglaries.. Robberies.. Attacks on

> the

> > person..

> > Bike Crime... Littering ... Dog Fouling .. as

> > there is today..

> >

> > I have lived in the immediate area for 37

> years..

> >

> >

> > DulwichFox

>

> I've only lived here for 30 years and perhaps I

> arrived at a particularly nasty time but I know

> that I feel much safer now, and I spend far less

> on taxis because I'm much happier getting off a

> bus or walking from the train station late at

> night. Of course certain types of crime have

> increased, if only because there weren't any smart

> phones 30 years ago, but I remember the frequency

> of the yellow crime boards that thankfully are now

> a rare sight.

Whistles softly :)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1200473/Police-ban-yellow-signs-reduce-fear-crime.html

Been in Peckham since 2007 and never had any issues (2011 during the rioting I couldn't get to my flat as there were a row of police blocking Rye Lane - and I had to wait - with the looters).

[JoeLeg]

>

> Safer ? Nicer

>

> There has NEVER in the history of East Dulwich

> been more Burglaries.. Robberies.. Attacks on the

> person..

> Bike Crime... Littering ... Dog Fouling .. as

> there is today..

>

> I have lived in the immediate area for 37 years..

>

>

> DulwichFox

While I don't automatically dispute this, I'd be interested to know if SE22 and environs are suffering an equivalent rise in these types of times as other areas, or if it's something specific to the neighbourhood. Because if it's a reflection of crime in general then it's not really relevant, but if not then that's a different matter.

Gentrification is complex. It can rip the heart out of communities, but sometimes those communities would be better served by adapting to changing times. I really miss th Soho of the '90s, for example, but I'm not sure that it deserved to stick around. Spitalfields on the other hand, I think is a crying shame.

[DulwichFox]

JoeLeg Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> >

> > Safer ? Nicer

> >

> > There has NEVER in the history of East Dulwich

> > been more Burglaries.. Robberies.. Attacks on

> the

> > person..

> > Bike Crime... Littering ... Dog Fouling .. as

> > there is today..

> >

> > I have lived in the immediate area for 37

> years..

> >

> >

> > DulwichFox

>

> While I don't automatically dispute this, I'd be

> interested to know if SE22 and environs are

> suffering an equivalent rise in these types of

> times as other areas, or if it's something

> specific to the neighbourhood. Because if it's a

> reflection of crime in general then it's not

> really relevant, but if not then that's a

> different matter.

>

> Gentrification is complex. It can rip the heart

> out of communities, but sometimes those

> communities would be better served by adapting to

> changing times. I really miss th Soho of the '90s,

> for example, but I'm not sure that it deserved to

> stick around. Spitalfields on the other hand, I

think is a crying shame.

Between 1972 & 1985 I worked at Bishopsgate Telephone Exch. Jerome street just off of Commercial St.

I remember The old Spitalfields market. It was a fascinating place. It's dreadful what's become of that place.

But the whole area is now unrecognisable. I suppose though, something needed to be done with the area.

It has not been done sympathetically.

DulwichFox

[JoeLeg]

While I agree Spitalfields couldn't be left as it was, what's been done to the whole area is not good, to say the least. It stands as an example of 'gentrification gone wrong'.

Adapatation and growth are constants in urban (and to some extent rural) areas, and I don't pretend to have all the answers, but it's unstoppable in general, and I'm generally of the opinion these days that more harm than good is done. When we lose the character of an area we can never regain it. True, this must be balanced against (hopefully) lower crime and increased prosperity, and I only hope as we go forward that we learn lessons about balancing old and new, with both recognising what the other has to offer.

[fishbiscuits]

JohnL Wrote:

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> I think Costa on Rye Lane is overflow for Wetherspoons sometimes :)

I've only been in there once. But it struck me as one of the few places in Peckham that apparently appeals to a cross-section of the community.. ages, ethnicities (and I assume income).. can't say that about many places to be honest. I'm all for it.

[Angelina]

I agree, Joe. losing the character of a place is a cost of gentrification. Just look at Brixton - an entire culture has all but disappeared. And while it may be good as it is, that's subjective.