Town Centre Grocery Being Redeveloped For Residential Use
The shop was once home to an old borough newspaper
Redevelopment at 144 Wandsworth High Street has begun
September 12, 2023
The Close to Home Food store at 144 Wandsworth High Street is being redeveloped for residential use.
Planning has been granted to change the ground floor from retail to a one bedroom flat with alterations to the front and rear elevations.
The shop front has already been removed to make way for two new windows fronting onto Wandsworth High Street, while a new ‘traditional timber’ door will be inserted at an angle next to the entrance to the flat above at 144a.
The former shop floor itself is being converted into a kitchen/living room, with a bedroom and shower room being built at the back of the premises where the shop’s kitchen, office and WC used to be. A small bin store and courtyard for the flat will be accessed via the kitchen/living room.
Civil and structural engineers Knapp Hicks & Partners, who are based in Brentford, have provided the plans for the private owner of the premises.
Aside from Close to Home Foods, previous inhabitants of 144 Wandsworth High Street include Tate Woodburn Estate Agents and Surveyors as well as Head Girls Hair Designers Studio and the barber shop, Head Boys.
The Wandsworth Borough News used to be run out of the building
Delving further into the past a sign on the building at 144 Wandsworth High Street shows that the now defunct Wandsworth Borough News (or ‘Boro’ News as it was officially known) was compiled on the premises from the late 1800s. The newspaper ran for more than 100 years, becoming part of the Surrey Comet in its later days.
144 Wandsworth High Street is the latest in a line of change-of-use redevelopments in Wandsworth Town Centre. The previous office block at Argyll House in All Saints Passage is nearing completion of its transformation into new apartments, while the old Carpetman shop at 7a Putney Bridge Road, has been demolished and planning permission is in place for a new residential development, by Enzo’s Homes, of one, two and three bedroom dwellings.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |