Yet another thread....I'm just a bit fed up with all the negativity, and signs and leaflets going up without anyone putting their name to them. Who are you? Don't assume every person is against this application completely. You don't speak for us all. Having read the statement from Blackrock on the front page, and having spoken to several businesses in Putney, and having visited the site at Olympia (how many of YOU have been to one??) I think we have to be a bit wary of being quite so negative about this application. If, and yes it's an if at this stage, the site is well managed, is more of an upmarket food court, with a bar, isn't aimed at drinkers or dancers (which I'm assured it won't be), will mostly have visitors coming by public transport, is not going to be treated like a bar only, will bring more visitors during the opening hours during the day (from 12noon onwards) who could well shop locally whilst here, then there will certainly be positives for Putney. We can't assume it'll be empty until 8pm and will then be full of drinkers. That's ridiculous. The High St is struggling. There are fewer people parking and more people shopping online. I wonder how many evenings it would actually have 700 people in? And if it did, and they all ate rather than just drank, caught public transport, with a small percentage using Uber, then it might just work. The 2am cut off is only for 25 evenings a year, and already all the pubs and bars have that time so that's not new. They have to have security on the door given that the only access is through the Exchange when all the shops are shut in the evening. It seems to me that having been travelling around the UK recently there are a lot of High Streets that are in REAL trouble, and we're lucky to have a team of people trying to get businesses in to Putney. If it was that easy we wouldn't have any empty shops. I am cautious, want a bit more input from Incipio about their plans, given that we are a more residential area than their other sites, but it could, repeat could, be good for us. It's not always doom and gloom. I note that support vs objections on the application site is roughly 200:150 - and no, I haven't read many of them as I just haven't got time at the moment. I didn't count the neutral comments. Yes there need to be assurances from the Company, and the Council need to be prompt to act should it go through and there be complaints. But Incipio is going to be putting a lot of money into this, and the last thing they'll want will be complaints and problems. I expect I'll be shot down in flames now, .
Alison Fraser ● 2834d