Opportunity or Threat - what does the South Circular bring to SE23.

Is it a ribbon development opportunity and therefore new business should see good access and a welcoming community as being a major plus points only tempered by reduced parking facility brought about the widely hated Red Route restrictions.

Or is it to be viewed as a huge threat in what it may or may not bring to SE23 as exampled by the perceived threat that the Domino's Pizza proposal has engendered at 120 Stanstead Road.

In my naivety I had not considered what has been rather forcefully put to me over recent days, that if the branding associated with that proposal had been Pizza Express and not Domino's Pizza, many of the objections would not have emerged and the proposal would be warmly welcomed.

The area needs an eclectic mix of business, both new and old, with an acknowledged acceptance that not everything will be welcomed by everyone.

The real risk is to reject this moderated acceptance and to create a cultural and commercial desert.