12 September 2018

Significant Developments Planned for Forest Hill

All Inn One Site

This summer, owners Julia and Richard announced that they would be selling the All Inn One on Perry Vale. All regulars to the pub will be sad to see them leave in April 2019 and will be concerned about the future of the pub once they leave.

The new owner is considering the best use for the site, but has told the Forest Hill Society that a pub will remain on the ground floor and return to the old name of The Forresters. Since pubs are now protected by law, any demolition proposal would require full planning permission from Lewisham Council — we will be watching this closely, and working with the developer to ensure continued community use of this site.


Artist’s impression of one possible rebuild of the All Inn One pub with residential units or a hotel above.

Co-op Site

Not far from the All Inn One, at the junction of Waldram Park Road (South Circular) and Stanstead Road, is the Co-op grocery store with a large forecourt which used to be a petrol station.

A planning application was submitted earlier this year to convert this site to a 5-storey, 90-room hotel. On the ground floor would be a convenience store, roughly the same size as the Co-op; however, without any car parking, the Co-op is apparently not interested in continuing to operate on the site.

The Forest Hill Society is supportive of this application in principle, but does have some concerns about service access for the hotel and store, and the on- and off-site parking ramifications for hotel guests, shoppers and neighbouring residents.

However, a large hotel in Forest Hill could be of benefit to the community — by bringing more people to the area who would use local restaurants and shops.

Portakabin Site

Between the Co-op site and the railway bridge to the west, on Waldram Crescent (South Circular), lies the Portakabin site. Proposals for its redevelopment currently feature around 21 flats with some form of commercial activity at ground floor level. The development would rise from 3 storeys close to existing buildings on the eastern edge, to 6 storeys overlooking the railway line.

Since this site has been under-utilised for too long, it is good to see this site, close to the town centre, being considered for redevelopment. The Forest Hill Society has spoken to the developers to encourage them to think creatively about the use of the ground floor space, as its location on the South Circular is not a good spot for pedestrian access. Given the site's proximity to the railway line and the South Circular, we have also asked them to consider every possible noise mitigation solution for the benefit of the flats' future residents.

2 comments:

Se23forever said...

I was told by people close to coop that the lease was up, and the owner of the land did not want to rent it out to a supermarket, but make big money with flats or hotel.
When you google search the owners name, you find public requests for info on sites to build flats as an investment. Perhaps because of the old petrol tanks on the site, this space can’t be developed as homes?
As a very local resident, the idea of no parking, for the hotel or the proposed shop on ground floor is very worrying. There are often no free spaces round this area now within 6 streets! Especially if there’s an event at JK Banquets.
The coop is busy all day, and really busy in the evenings! What a shame we will loose it!

Unknown said...

"in principle". At first look the mere idea of a hotel on this site seems like a very bad idea. I'd be interested to understand the expected demand for hotel rooms although I assume it would be for access to central London rather than access to the East. The problem with a hotel is that should it prove unprofitable then it's fixed in terms of usage. As to car parking with contamination underneath there could be no car parking which would entail the council stepping in to regulate parking in the nearby area. It feels like this is a poorly thought through development which is unsympathetic to the real needs of the community.