Aside from the environmental state of Cavendish Square one of the problems with the “regeneration” relates to the shops. Rents set by the ‘developer’ are exorbitant. So much so that already two tenants have left because they could not make a living. And now we are in danger of losing the Cafe which serves as a kind of social centre where local people meet have have a chat.
The danger we are facing is that we will end up with a row of empty shops.
The Council will no doubt say that since they do not own the shops they cannot do anything about it. They could, of course, reduce the rates for hard pressed shop keepers. They could also place some moral and political pressure on the owners, to publicly call for them to reduce their ludicrously high rents.
A derelict building site with empty shops is hardly likely to attract other tenants.
Cavendish Square Campaign 