Victoria House in North Cheam is set to remain crumbling until next summer at the earliest. A representative of the new owners, Home Group gave an update to the Cheam North & Worcester Park Local Committee last Thursday, telling local residents that the target date for starting the new building would be summer 2015 as they planned to submit a revised planning application. The new plans seek to improve the design granted permission by the council in 2013. Another roadblock is Ladbrokes who have a lease until 2022.
I called Home Group to ask for more details about their plans for the new building and was advised that they were keen to have more than the seven affordable homes in the 75 granted. The homes would be mixed tenure (ie rented/privately owned/ shared ownership). They confirmed that it will be difficult to demolish the existing eyesore early whilst Ladbrokes remain on site. A new planning application is due to be submitted at the end of this year or January next. Home Group is a not-for-profit social enterprise. So, no good news for the immediate future but we must keep pressing for action to get rid of the dangerous eyesore that is blighting the area.
Can’t a negotiation be made with Ladbrooks to move them to another local rental arrangement? There seems a shop closing around here all the time.
Disappointed they would insist on staying when it affects the community’s revitalization so much. Selfish. There are other options for them.
Hi LocalResident. I know that Home Group and Stonegate before them, have been trying to negotiate with Ladbrokes to break their lease but to no avail. I don’t know exactly the sticking point but it is disappointing that this is holding things up.
The building will be unfit to do business in long before 2022. Priority should be given to persuading Ladbrokes to surrender their lease. The cost of compensating them is likely to be much less than the costs, such as security and loss of income, incurred in keeping an empty building standing. Have you seen the newspaper cutting about an accident in the old Perrings building at Worcester Park station, which I sent to Alan Plant of CHAPRA?
Hello Elizabeth. I agree and I know that they are trying hard to get Ladbrokes to move. No I haven’t seen the newspaper cutting. I’ll have a chat to Alan about it.
Thanks for the info Paul, but I guessed this would happen when the Liberals once again won the election. I have heard more than enough about the eyesore, and think Ladbrokes must be made to move as someone else said there is enough empty shops in North Cheam and Worcester Park. Surely enough is enough with the eyesore of North Cheam
Ridiculous that this has only been realised now! Seems odd that Ladbrokes occupying the site has only just become a problem, especially since demolition was set to go ahead in august.
Perhaps s local boycott of Ladbrokes should be organised, in the hope that they decide to close the branch as it is no longer viable to keep it open. I doubt that anyone will miss a betting shop, especially since Coral is literally facing across the road (such wonderful outlets in North Cheam) and there is another branch within 20 minutes walk at the bottom of Stonecot Hill. I agree with the other residents, completely selfish and when the lease runs out lets hope they get lost for good- hardly anyone wants them.
Looking at the development, Ladbrokes sits as almost a stand alone freehold building adjacent to Victoria House. Having experienced significant demolition and new build within the city on various projects whilst maintaining live buildings – sometimes within metres of our operations, I cannot see how Victoria House cannot be demolished whilst maintaining the use of Ladbrokes