Thanks rbmartin.

Maybe the planners weren't so stupid after all (makes a change!).

I still find it a bit mad that the core units start at number 4 if this is 2-4. I mean, why didn't they start at number 2?

I've heard a rumour that Pedder Estate Agent is interested in moving from where they presently are in 45 London Road.

Whoever takes it over will be in for an expensive refurb!

It could be amazing, but it would be a huge shame if such a promenant site went to an estate agent.

I'm afraid other than the sad predicament in which the launderette's closure leaves its staff, there really can be no strong argument for it to remain as it is, certainly in its current form/condition. It looks shabby - and that probably reflects how viable nowadays it is as a business. I don't want to live in ED - I make a positive choice to live in FH - but Michael is right: we need something on that spot that sets an appropriate tone for the area. Currently it does not. I would welcome anything there that is well tended and attracts regular custom. But perhaps not another estate agency !

Further to a few posters saying they wished for a deli. There is one in FH on the Dartmouth Road that opened on Saturday.

I'm very sorry to know.
They were precious to me when I first moved to FH a few years ago.
A launderette is a special place, and I love the smell of clean clothes when you walk in...

Very sad to hear about the launderette closing. While I hardly ever use it, it's a great fall back when things go wrong at home. It's a sign of the times I guess.

However - NO MORE COFFEE SHOPS! At least give the cafes in Forest Hill that are already established a chance to thrive.

A really good Italian restaurant would be ideal on this corner or a Turkish food store that bakes it's own bread and has lots of lovely fresh fruit and veg would be nice.

I really doubt that it would become a restaurant. A restaurant or similar would require change of use from A1 to A3, extract hoods, ducting, extract fans and all the associated gas plumbing works specific to the restaurant catering trade, which would be a huge expense. Any small prospective operator planning to open a small restaurant would be looking at existing A3 premises in the neighbourhood......but maybe I'm being too pessimistic...

This post was last modified: 24-09-2012 01:27 PM by Renzon.

I tend to agree that as the number of cafes in Forest Hill reaches double-figures we probably don't need any more for the moment. But there are a few cafes that are not exactly centrally located. The corner of London Road and Dartmouth/Devonshire ought to be the perfect place for a cafe (which is presumably one reason that the next door coffee shop always seems busy)

Unfortunately estate agents love these corner locations especially when opposite the station, and it only takes a few sales to pay the rent for the year. A sensible estate agent would realise that those units on Perry Vale are a great spot and are the first shops seen by most people coming to Forest Hill from Hoxton (and other parts of London to our north).

They have the added benefit that Perry Vale isn't in a conservation area and there is a large car park in easy reach.

Keep talking, Michael, I'm sure the estate agents are listening...

To be honest, while I would rather have a retailer in that unit, anything - even an estate agents - would be better than what we have at the moment. Yes, I know laundrettes are essential - I had no washing machine for three weeks this summer, so I had to use a laundrette. But I drove down to the one on Sydenham Road because I could park right outside with my five bin bags of laundry. A better location for the FH laundrette might make it a going-concern again. Meanwhile, we will all benefit from having that prime site refurbished. By the sound of it, it needs some serious investment, which might mean it's not be a good prospect for an up-coming independent. If Pedders or some other estate agent is ready to move in, I think that's better than it lying empty for months.

An offer I can't refuse
It seems quite unlikely that an estate agent would be allowed to convert the launderette, especially if anotherjohn is correct that it should be categorised as A1 (which I think it fair since there is no doubt about dry cleaners). With substantially less than 70% of the shops in the core-shopping area being A1, the loss of A1 to A2 would not be good. I should say the same might apply to a cafe (A3), although I'm sure some cafes manage to avoid this rule through some type of loophole relating to cold food.

The Perry Vale site was granted planning permission for A1/A2/A3/B1, so although a cafe and Fortnum & Masons would have been nice, there is nothing to stop an estate agent creating an attractive frontage in a very prominent spot in Forest Hill on the 'other side' of the station.

If only there was a crossing so people could actually safely get to these new units on Perry Vale.
You need a business that wants a prominent shop frontage but is not concerned about passing trade - people will need to come to it.
Maybe a funeral parlour....

The launderette site could be a tourist information centre, directing visitors to the best tea shops and maybe organising tours of the historic and beautiful Perry Vale low lands.

I think it's a shame it's closing and worth remembering that not everyone does have a washing machine. As others have said, it's handy in an emergency anyway.
Unlike many here I don't find the building aesthetically offensive. To me it's been so much a part of the fabric of Forest Hill since I moved to the area in 2001 that I don't even notice it anymore.

Personally I don't think we do need another coffee shop. I'd rather live in an area that caters for the needs of all income levels and backgrounds. The new businesses in the area are very welcome but a launderette provides a practical service, and losing that isn't something to be pleased about, in my view.

This post was last modified: 26-09-2012 11:14 AM by seeformiles.

Just out of interest, what does it cost for a service wash at this launderette? I only ask because I was shocked when my kitchen was being refurb'd a couple of years ago and a 3/4 full bag of washing cost me about a tenner (and I supplied washing tabs & fabric conditioner!). Is that expensive or am I just getting really old? But it struck me how economical, relatively speaking, it is to have a washing machine at home. I realise of course that there isn't always a suitable drying space in a flat, which could affect things.

The more I hear about how important a laundry service is to so many people the more I hope that there's an enterprising person from another launderette nearby who's looking in on this thread and getting ideas about a drop-off-and-collect-later service or maybe even a home collect-and-deliver service. I'm only thinking this way because it's becoming more apparent that shop rents and setting-up costs in the town centre are probably too high for a new launderette to be sustainable.

A full (and I mean full) big bin bag cost me a tenner this summer. Probably the equivalent of three loads in a domestic machine.

Whoa, that sounds very reasonable - about the same price as going to one of our new designer capheighs for a sit-in large skinny cappufrappalatteccino and a slice of home-made gluten-free quails egg cake.

No wonder people are gonna miss it so much!

That wasn't at the FH laundrette, btw, but the one in Sydenham. The one in Beckenham charges the same.

However long it has been there and however long it has served the great unwashed, it is an eye-sore in the most prominent place in Forest Hill. The row of shops (Jolly B; From the Forest etc) look almost inviting from the train until your eye is drawn to the miserable, gun metal grey shutters and the dirty yellow signage of yesteryear.

How the world has changed though, a thread where there is a consensus - that Forest Hill has too many cafes?!?! what a nice problem to have.

I laughed at the suggestion of a Tourist Information! It would be the easiest job in the world. You'd get three customers a month and they probably got off at the wrong stop!

Get realistic! The shutters are going nowhere. Even if it was another coffee shop, the late night shutters would come down.

Black Hummingbird don't close their shutters, even though the Lemon Grove had them installed. There are few cafes, estate agents, bookmakers, banks, pubs, or charity shops that have shutters.
Launderettes need shutters because they are an obvious target as criminals think they can make a clean getaway.

What might work here is the German solution:
http://www.springwise.com/lifestyle_leis...rmet-cafe/