My understanding is that the laundrette is closing because the shop's owner can make a greater profit by leasing the unit to Pedders. It's not because the laundrette isn't viable (although possibly whatever profit there is may be small). Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I like the fact that the launderette exists personally, but aside from the first few weeks of moving to the area, I haven't used it. I'd imagine the trend away from using launderetts's (not dry cleaners) will only continue now that the vast majority have appliances at home. Keeping it open is probably just postponing the inevitable even if the business is making a profit. A new shop would probably open in Pedders existing site (judging by recent positive events), so I don't really see the problem.

With regard to viability:

There are a number of launderettes 'locally' which certainly have had more
money spent on the outside than the one at Forest Hill and which do not
seem to be under threat. (Brockley Rise & Perry Hill spring to mind). They
do all however stick to the core business of old fashioned laundry. The
Forest Hill location has a good opportunity to extend the business and, I
suspect become quite profitable (though I suspect less so than starting an estate agent).

If the launderette was mine, I would make the most of the increase in young (and old) affluent office-workers who have moved to Forest Hill in recent years, whilst
retaining the core current clientele.

1)  I would offer ironing services and advertise especially to office
workers that they could drop off their shirts in the morning and collect
after work in the evening. I know there is demand for this amongst young
professionals and currently see people take their laundry into my office in
Canary Wharf where there is a laundry service. 'My Beautiful Launderette'
would compete directly with this and I would expect it to win on cost and
convenience.

2)  I would extend and advertise my Service Wash offering. Personally, when
I lived in a flat, I took my sheets and towels to the launderette at the
end of my road. I don't understand why more people don't do this. A large
wash could do all my linen in one go, whilst in the flat, it would take a
full day of loading, draping (creating tent structures around the flat) and
folding on my own (getting wrapped in sheets). I considered this a total waste of a Saturday.

In order to bring in the above clients, I would refit 'My Beautiful
Launderette' both inside and out, making it a nicer environment for current
clients and staff, as well as a strong visual presence on the Forest Hill
High Street.

All the above has been tried and tested in other parts of London.

In addition, 'My Beautiful Launderette' would offset the cost of staffing
for longer hours with additional features:

3)  'MBL Socials': After say 6pm at night, I would look to create some
social nights. So far on the calendar are: a) Book Club - I always read at
the launderette - seems a natural fit (I might extend to chess & mahjong
nights) b) Singles night - a launderette seems a nice, safe environment to
meet people who are likely to be local to the area. I would look into
licensing and may try wine & beer sales on these nights. Certainly teas,
coffees and soft drinks would be available.

Sadly, I do not have the funding or the time to make this reality, but
maybe there is someone out there who could.

I am tempted.

Crowd funding?

Cool ideas!

You could also make it retro/50's (thinking of the Levi's TV ad!)

Blushingnail is correct as to the reason for the decision taken, it was making money though not as much as a couple of years ago (who is) and will get more from leasing to the Estate Agents.
Generally the people who use the laundrette have like a lot people had to tighten their belts in the last few years so might not go so often or try and do a small wash instead of a large.
It's one of the reasons for reduction in turnover, amongst many others I suppose.
There are more and more homes now with washing machines but there still is a section of the community who for whatever reasons don't / can't have them and this will make their weekly wash a lot more difficult.

As an aside, apparently there has been a laundrette on that site since 1952 which was one of the first in the SE of England.

I think the shirt ironing service is a great idea. I am not sure what the going rate is up in town, I think it used to be about £1 quite a few years back when I worked in central London (didn't use it personally but quite a few of my colleagues did) so I guess it would probably be about £1.50 now. Surely if a Forest Hill laundrette could undercut this it would be popular with office workers.

Another service that could be popular is simple clothes repairs and alterations - how many people have sewing machines at home and are able to take up trousers / repair clothes / replace zips? Particularly on something like a suit or a coat which would cost a lot of money to replace. In cash-strapped times people are surely more likely to pay a few pounds to repair something than replace it altogether. I know that personally I try and repair my clothes as much as possible..

There are lots of ways a laundrette could be made financially viable, but at the end of the day it relies on someone to take on the business, which is what seems to be lacking here...

Regarding all the talk about the nearest other laundrette being Kirkdale. I am pretty sure there is one at the bottom of Brockley Rise, opposite Rickman's Pharmacy, near to the Honor Oak pub.
There's another on Perry Hill (near to junction with Woolstone Road). So it seems laundrette choices are better for those of us on the east side of the tracks!

I think there's also one on Brockley Rise in the bit that runs behind Stondon Park - might be a bit far to go from Forest Hill, though.

Perry Dry Cleaners on Perry Vale, to which I regularly take my shirts for laundering, charges £1.50 per shirt. Bargain. Life is too short to wash, dry and then (grrr) iron work shirts.

There is a dry cleaners on Dartmouth Road and I would say this is an opportunity for them to step in and offer service washes. We use the launderette for all our big stuff as we have a small flat. I should imagine that a lot of people in the area do so, especially in winter. But good to know there is one in Perry Vale, cheers for that information.

Fantastic passive-aggressive notice in the window at the moment...

I got an email with the details of the Launderette this morning which I presume means it's up for grabs.

It's £425k inc freehold of the flats.

Freehold for sale with conversion potential. Ground floor commercial unit, 3 bedsits & 1 studio. Prominent location at junction of London Road and Dartmouth Road. Directly opposite Forest Hill Train Station. Ground floor pre let agreed with strong local covenant at £15,000 per annum. Upper parts currently producing c.£20,000 pa.

According to the summary valuation effective from 1st April 2010, the rateable value for the property is £12,000. We understand rates payable are therefore approximately £5,652 per annum for the period 2012/2013.

More Details here:
http://www.acorncommercial.co.uk/propert...ndon-5157/

Any takers?

Is it time for Foxtons or Cafe Nero to arrive and stomp their big feet around the place?

I recall leaving East Dulwich on the same day Foxtons arrived. It felt like the right time to leave.

'ANY TAKERS?'

But this is only going to be of any interest to investors or developers because the shop has already gone.

There hasn't been a decision posted on Lewisham's planning website yet but Pedder's application for change of use must be imminent - or they may have even already had the nod from the council. Does anyone know if it's still going with Pedder or has someone else signed up for lease on the shop?

Don't know but interesting on another level. I wonder what the validity of the covenant is if the freehold party changes? Otherwise, I presume the idea is to strike a deal once the let has been agreed.

LACB

' I wonder what the validity of the covenant is if the freehold party changes?'

Assuming Pedder have signed a new lease on the shop, the prospective new freeholder will take on the property subject to the terms of that agreement.

Is that what you were asking?

from http://www.forsters.co.uk/cmsfiles/pdf/p...rength.pdf

But this is 'pre let' not 'let'. In other words the rental is subject to certain conditions, such as planning permission being granted, but potentially any number of other conditions that I am not in a position to know. Commitments by the potential leasee or the future freeholder may be contained in any 'pre let' agreement, but I would suggest that this is something to check in greater detail before purchasing the freehold.

The council officers are recommending approval of this application to turn the launderette into an estate agency. This will be going to committee on Thursday (20th June):
http://councilmeetings.lewisham.gov.uk/i...3&MId=2877

While it would have been nice to have something a little more exciting than an estate agent, no doubt Peddar will spend some money on the frontage because at the moment it's rather an eyesore, slap bang in the middle of the high street. And far better than another takeaway or charity shop as I think we have enough of those in FH!

Council planning committee agreed with the forest hill society view (and that of a number of local councillors) that the loss of the launderette would have a negative impact on the core shopping area. The application was rejected after plenty of discussion. So hopefully the launderette will continue to operate for some time to come.