Plans to demolish a row of business in Cheam and build nine flats have been rejected.
A planning application was submitted in November last year for the site at 9-17 Upper Mulgrave Road. The shops along this strip included off-license Cheam Kandies, the Mulgrave Road Pharmacy and an empty unit.
A document attached to the application read: "Given the form and condition of the existing buildings, they are no longer attractive to potential tenants, and they are therefore considered to no longer be fit for purpose, and their wholesale replacement is deemed to be the only way to make best use of the site."
But Sutton Council's planning officers thought the design had "excessive scale, mass, bulk" and rejected those plans last month.
This was welcome new to Conservative Cheam ward Councillor Holly Ramsey.
Cllr Ramsey had talked to nearby residents throughout the application process and was pleased to see the designs thrown out.
The proposed design
"Local independent business in Cheam must be protected and Cheam Kandies has been a part of Cheam for over 15 years but would have been forced to close its doors if this development took place, along with the other two businesses on this plot," she said.
"The developer didn't even offer the option to these local businesses to return once the development is completed, leaving the businesses to close up shop completely.
"I have no issue with more housing on this location but I cannot support it if it is at the expense of local businesses being shut down. There must be a solution."
This isn't the first time that this particular row of shops has come under threat either.
In May 2019 a similar application was submitted to the council, only to be withdrawn a few months later.
"Furthermore, the council has rejected this application already due to bulk and overdevelopment of the site based on the planning applications," Cllr Ramsey added.
"It seems we have another case of developers cramming extra housing on to sites that are too small, just to maximise financial gain."
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