Just had a chat with the guy in Express Pizza in the HOP parade. He wasn't aware of the extend of the petition and mailing/letter campaign to Lewisham planning yet (nor the se23.com site) and is keen to see the planning application on Lewisham's website.

Needless to say he is worried about the impact a Domino's branch would have on his business. I'm not a big pizza fan, but get the occasional take-away from them. Why we need yet another pizza take away, and one with a gazillion mopeds parked outside at that, is beyond me.

To me, this is about the longer term perspective of keeping HOP a friendly, lively, local place with a parade of shops that people like to use and actually physically go to, rather than just phone in to order something. If we manage to get a business into the unit that achieves that, then it's an investment into HOP's longer term development (and no, I'm not just talking about higher property prices or making it into a mini East Dulwich). Domino's on the other hand is a short term, quick fix that will have the opposite effect in the long run.

Rant over, gotta munch that Fiorentina before it gets cold...