Fat Face progressing at last
After a development eternity the unit that is to be the new Fat Face store is taking shape. The shell of building work has suddenly transformed into something that looks like it could be a shop.
The clothing store is scheduled to open in June and hopefully that will mean that the scaffolding can at last be taken down.
I am blaming none of this on Fat Face as it is only part of the development which has taken so long it is laughable. People are absolutely sick of the sight of it and having to walk through the tunnel which the developers have created. I am sick of walking through this myself, waiting for pushchairs, having to close an umbrella and generally walking in single file. It is a seriously long term obstruction on the High Street.
These are small things but nevertheless annoy people who walk down here every day and after a year and a half I feel this criticism is quite justified.
I just hope that the scaffolding is removed when Fat Face moves in - can you imagine it if it was still there. That would be an absolute joke!
posted by The Cockerel @ 11:40 PM
8 Comments:
I heard from some of the workmen this morning that the scaffolding is due to come down in the next week or so. I totally agree that the tunnel outside Bikehut and the soon to be Fatface is a major inconvenience. Has anyone notice that West Street is fast becoming another St Martins Walk?? Hampshires (the big green antique shop) is closing at the end of the month, as is Noel Collins, Nina Boutique, the Dolls House shop and now Manuka Shoes is also closing. What a shame that Dorking is losing a glut of independent shops. It is depressing and it seems that there is no end in sight to the closures in Dorking.
It is all happening in Dorking - heard that Mo is stepping down from being a landlord at the Bulls Head. Also Simon is giving up the lease to the Bulls Head. In other words, this pub will be closing very shortly. Apparently, it has lost a lot of trade since it lost its late licence. Who on earth, would take on the Bulls Head? It has no beer garden, no smoking facilities, a smallish kitchen and the neighbours are constantly complaining about the noise, the yobbish behaviour and the clientele. In other words, I can see this pub sitting empty for months before it gets converted into a shop or even a house.
I have been informed by the site foreman that the scaffolding is due to come down on the 29th may, but then he did also tell me that it would only be up for 6 to 9 weeks outside Bikehut!!
Bikehut Bods
Re: West Street - It's no surprise that so many shops are going - the rents and rates are ridiculous and there is simply not enough trade to justify this. The majority of buildings are owned by the owner of Two To Four as has been said before. He does not live locally and this seems to be a money making venture, I don't think he has any real interest in the success of the town. He would rather have an empty shop and wait for a gullible tenant willing to pay his inflated rents - I speak from experience!!
Bloody hell that is a very hard hitting post above. It certainly rings true, as from what I gather there are about four or five landlords who own quite a bit of the commercial property in Dorking. It is no secret, that they are incredibly greedy, push out good quality tenants and inflate their rents quite considerably after each rent review. It is a real shame that Dorking has the potential to be a Farnham or a Godalming with a thriving town centre with a good mix of independent shops and small chains. As I have said before, Dorking is a lovely place to shop but, it seems to be losing its way, just like Leatherhead. Why cannot the landlords be realistic when it comes to rents? It is a crying shame, that the small independent shops are being replaced by the 'clone chains' or even worse, an empty shop...
Also read in Advertiser, that the manager of The Bulls Head wants to open up two hours later over the upcoming bank holiday weekend. The application has been opposed by the police. The application is being put to the licensing committee at Pippbrook at 10am today (Thursday). Is this the same manager/landlord who is stepping down from The Bulls Head? Is this just a nasty rumour that this public house is closing, or is it, the last throw of the dice for The Bulls Head?
Leatherhead Lip
Overheard that the grand opening of Fatface has been pushed back till early July. Can anyone confirm if that is true or not? Also heard Mo, the landlord of the Bulls Head has failed in getting his hours extended and from holding a disco over the bank holiday weekend. Leatherhead Lip, it is true that the Bulls Head will be closing in about three or four weeks. Mo is heading off to pastures new and the big question on everyones mind, is where will the clientele go to next? I assume they will head down to the Old House. Apparently, there has been some interest from some people taking over the lease of the Bulls Head. I guess, we have to wait and see.....
Scaffolding will be down by end of Sunday 25th may, both outside Bikehut and Fatface.
Yes........the scaffolding is finally down. We can finally see the outside of the Fat Face unit. The windows can be seen and we can get an idea of how large this unit is going to be. The tunnel has also been booted into touch and the pavement is finally back to the way it was. No longer will you have to give way to elderly people, pushchairs, bicylists (who continually ride on the pavement!) and obnoxious chavs. Cannot wait till Fat Face opens its doors in Dorking.
Also noticed some people inside the former Human Nature unit in South Street last night. This unit is squeezed in between the St Catherines Hospice charity shop and I think either, the recruitment agency or the party shop. The under offer sign from Martin Brown has disappeared and the people inside were measuring up and looking at plans. Any idea on what is going to open up there? Also, it sadly appears that the former Age of Elegance unit is no longer under offer. Noticed a sign late yesterday evening above the unit from Martin Brown, stating that unit is still for let. Again, can anyone fill me in, if this is really the case? If it is, it will be a real shame, as this is a very prominent unit in the High Steet.
Agree with the sentiments above about the demise of West Street. Nina Boutique is no more and there are a few shops on the verge of having closing down sales because of retirements and end of leases. I have to say, it most probably down to lack of trade and vastly inflated rents. As for Steads, what a shocking way to treat a customer. One minute they are there taking your money, next minute they are gone with your hard earned money minus the goods you purchased. Disgraceful.
Finally, I decided to pop to Epsom yesterday and what a mistake that was. First of all, it is a whopping £1.80 per hour to park in the council car parks. After 6:30pm, it is an additional £1.00. For four hours, I forked out £6.40. Anyway, I got into Epsom town centre and half the town was closed and the other half (which included The Ashley Centre) was shrouded in darkness as a result of a power cut. The only shops that were open were Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, TK Max and a few coffee shops. After a very quick look at the shops, I decided to go for a coffee in the mall. After ordering a coffee, I sat down and then the staff decided to close up and started clearing everything away and started putting all the chairs on the table. I was mightly pissed off. With the mall still in darkness, I decided to go for another coffee at Caffe Nero, as it stated it would not be closing until 6pm. Again, I ordered my coffee, sat down to read the newspapers only to told ten minutes later that they would be closing at 5pm. What a shambles. I will never ever go to Epsom again. I was throughly pissed off with the parking charges, there was no shops open and being turfed out of two coffee shops like a bloody leper. I will never complain about paying 50p for 1 hour, 70p for two hours etc. again in Dorking. Just hope that the people who work in shops, cafes, coffee shops, restaurants and pubs in Dorking do not treat their customers, like the way I was treated in Epsom on Bank Holiday Monday. ~AP~
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