Foxtons has had a rare setback in its plans to open a new branch, thanks to planning officers issuing an Article Four direction to prevent the agency turning a former Victorian pub into its latest office.
Foxtons wanted to convert the former Auntie Annie's bar in north London's Kentish Town Road into a new branch. Local residents, as is often the case when Foxtons wants to open an office, complained about the proposal.
As reported in recent months on Estate Agent Today, residents say the NW5 area is already saturated with agents. On top of that there has been considerable local affection for Auntie Annie's, known just before its closure last year as Hoot 'N' Annie's.
A Camden Labour councillor told the local press in the area that residents were unenthusiastic at the prospect of another agency. "Planning should reflect what the community want - not what big businesses want to do. We know pubs are under threat and this is becoming like a game of chess with developers. This doesn't mean pubs can't be converted into something else - but it does mean there has to be a full and proper public debate.
Foxtons says it has its eyes on seeking consent to use an unoccupied retail unit in the area in the near future.
Comments
Want to be successful in trading Go search for Code Trading System.
Whoops....Cancel the Mini orders!!
Sorry, but all those local residents can't be wrong. The Tesco analogy is quite a good one actually - a big corporation moving into somewhere where they're not wanted and forcing smaller stores to close.
Expansion, growth and ambition is all fine and dandy, but there has to be a limit. Otherwise you get to the situation now, where London's streets are literally littered with estate agents, a lot of them branches of Foxtons. We have reached 'peak Foxtons' as the trendy media hipsters say. Too much is too much.
Yeah, I've never quite understood the vitriol towards them - they seem to be the Tesco of the property world (a victim of their own success, in other words).
I do agree that they're a bit too ubiquitous in London, but you can't deny their ambition or success.
I like Foxtons, they have more ambition than most, and despite some of the horror stories we hear, people still use 'em.
Couldn't happen to a nicer bunch. Anything to stop Foxton's drive to take over the world (OK, most of London's streets) is a good thing in my book.
Oh no. What a shame!