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WALTHAM ABBEY: Shabby shop driving out trade

9:48am Friday 19th December 2008

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SHOPKEEPERS have spoken of their outrage following a council decision to back down over plans to purchase a long derelict shop.

Number 8 Sun Street, Waltham Abbey, has been abandoned for years, and other businesses in the road frequently complain about the bad impression it creates.

Epping Forest District Council formally agreed in July 2006 to make a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the property to end the problem, but at Monday’s cabinet meeting decided to give shop owner Stef Di Piazza more time to restore the building.

John Lipsett, owner of Mr John’s the butchers, in Sun Street, said: “It’s ridiculous. They should have made the CPO and stuck by it.

“I can’t believe that they’ve given them more time. Shopkeepers such as myself have spent a fortune making our shops look up to date. It’s not right. It’s an eyesore right in the middle of town, and it’s been like that for years.”

The district council made its decision after Mr Di Piazza succeeded in gaining planning permission in May to enlarge the shop and the two flats above.

The council has said Mr Di Piazza has already initiated preparatory works at the shop and has assured them he is committed to redeveloping the site.

But shopkeepers are concerned that the building will remain derelict for some time yet with the street now looking even worse since the next door NCH charity shop closed two months ago.

Practice manager at Waltham Abbey Opticians, in Sun Street, Shane Brown said: “The guy hasn’t done anything for years so I can’t see why he’d do anything now. It’s one of the first shops you see when you look down Market Square. What kind of impression does that give? It’s pretty poor.”

Mr Di Piazza did not return the Guardian's calls.

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Bert Small, Leyton says...
10:49am Fri 19 Dec 08

Shouldn't the headline read SHABBY SHOPS?

The whole place is a shambles and attracts the likes of Lidl and Aldi Stores to open not Waitrose.

Tatty old shops and streets of ferals hanging around says it all really.

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annabel, London says...
11:32am Fri 19 Dec 08

I have to agree with Bert on this one - some of the shops that are open on Sun Street are totally shabby, of course John the butchers and the health food store are the exceptions.

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James Vorster, says...
1:27pm Fri 19 Dec 08

I agree, Waltham Abbey seems to be a lost cause.

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AhOh, London says...
2:49pm Fri 19 Dec 08

Waltham Abbey used to be a place of delight when I was younger but recently it has turned in to a popular place for youths to drink and hang out with their friends. It is a shame because the Abbey was always such a pleasure to visit on a warm summers day.

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inézc, Epping says...
6:33pm Fri 19 Dec 08

Waltham Abbey used to have a fantastic Thai restaurant but recently the whole area looks very shabby and down at heel. It could be such a great place but it's run down to nothing.

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Technomist, Walthamstow says...
7:26pm Fri 19 Dec 08

Council involvement is not always the solution to shabby shops.

One of the worst offenders for allowing property to remain in a derelict state is Waltham Forest Council, which has not done enough to resolve the problem of the former arcade site or the shabby former Burger King restaurant which is such an eyesore in Walthamstow High Street.

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dissenter 2008, P C MADNESSVILLE says...
7:42pm Fri 19 Dec 08

Technomist wrote:
Council involvement is not always the solution to shabby shops.

One of the worst offenders for allowing property to remain in a derelict state is Waltham Forest Council, which has not done enough to resolve the problem of the former arcade site or the shabby former Burger King restaurant which is such an eyesore in Walthamstow High Street.
sorry the whole high st is an eyesore, and once woolworths closes down,the bottom end may as well shut up.

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Technomist, Walthamstow says...
12:26am Mon 22 Dec 08

The High Street is not such an eyesore, and actually is quite an interesting place to shop. At least it has its own character, unlike a couple of humdred of other High Streets in the UK where you could be anywhere because they only have the same old boring chain stores. It could, I grant you, be better, but it's suffering from the insecurities which come from planning blight. If the numpites who have botched the arcade development could sort that out, there is a lot of further potential: there would be more investor confidence for a start, and I would bet there would be fairly rapid developments westwards from Selbourne walk down to Sainsbury's, devlopment on the south side of the railway where the council currently has its parking enforcement offices, and down at the St James's Street end. It would not take too much for whole area could be transformed within a decade.

I also think you will find that you are wrong on Woolworths. The current Woolworths site is a wonderful shop space and should be a quite attractive proposition for people who actually understand how to run a retail business in this century, which Woolworths patently didn't. Unfortunately it has been dead for ages. Very few people would have been going to the bottom end of the High Street on a special visit to Woolies. It couldn't compete with the market stalls, let alone the pound and 99p shops which have done a fairly good trade recently, despite (or possibly because of) the recession. The queues in Sam 99p store are longer on most normal days than Woolworths have had in their closing down sale.


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themanc, snaresbrook says...
5:14pm Tue 23 Dec 08

You must be joking... we all know Walthamstow High St is a complete dump. It need to be razed to the ground and started over. Who actually shops there anymore, i think i can guess who.

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Lankylil, Waltham Abbey says...
9:30pm Tue 13 Jan 09

I have moved to Waltham Abbey from Walthamstow and I can safely say, I would never ever love back. It is only a few miles apart but it is such a nicer place to live. I still work in Walthamstow so unfortunatly have to go back everyday and sometimes have to drag myself down the market and I hate it. Gone are the days when I used to know the someone or other as I strolled through looking in all the shop windows eating a bag of sweets fom the old sweet shop opposite selborne walk. I grew up in Higham Hill and I loved my childhood but I wouldnt go back if you paid me.

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Butcher John Lipsett, optician Shane Brown, and Miles Fleetwood of Waltham Abbey Health Shop outside the derelict unit at 8 Sun Street Butcher John Lipsett, optician Shane Brown, and Miles Fleetwood of Waltham Abbey Health Shop outside the derelict unit at 8 Sun Street

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