Anyone know why loads of shops in the Village have vanished?!

[Everhart]

Popped up to Wimbledon Village y'day for the first time in months and was amazed to see how many shops/businesses have closed and are standing vacant! The Aubaine site, the Igloo toyshop, the Lebanese restaurant (I think), and a good half-dozen more at least.

Anyone know what's happening and why nobody is filling the empty sites? It looks a bit depressing!

Rents too high
Business traffic down, no parking
audioboom.com/posts/5668739-adrian-mills-of-the-wimbledon-village-business-association?utm_campaign=embed&utm_content=retweet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook

Interesting interview
There are so many empty

Thanks elemis. At work so can't listen but will later. There are loads empty, aren't there??! I was really shocked. It's a shame, I hope new businesses fill the spaces, it ought to be thriving.

I think for most Merton residents, even SW19 ones, Wimbledon Village has become a bit of a parallel universe. It has a very specific 'BCBG' type of Euro and the super-monied vibe that is a bit off-putting even though in theory it's much more appealing than the sprawl of shops/restaurants down the hill.

It's a real pity though. One of the great bonuses of shopping up in W.V was all the independent shops - are those the ones that are closing down?

And spotted that Burger Shack gone too!

Apparently the Fire Stables is opening again in April.

If the business rates have made businesses unviable now in the Village then its a shame. It's a shame for businesses everywhere of course. Centre court and Wimbledon High St have had a turnover of businesses over the last few years and now it's finally hit the village even with their residents copious amounts of cash swilling around the hill. Give it a few years and all we will see are WH Smiths, the large supermarkets and of course those loveable tax dodging multinationals Costa, Starbucks and Café Nero. I expect some of the pubs to close too seeing as they are hit by the rates too and once we have left Europe there will be no polish bar staff anyway so no one to serve you. Still, we are all in it together as someone once said.

Hear what the local MP has to say about the decline: bit.ly/2nYUteq

I want to campaign for Burger Shack to come back. The Firestables was like canteen food. The problem I see with the Village (particularly cafes) - is that they assume customers have more money than sense (not that many of us do) and charge a fortune. The places that are surviving are those that have been there for years and are good quality for what they are.

Do you think Wimbledon Village 'suffers' for being more touristy than we give it credit for, particularly in summer months? So much of the high pricing is pitched at London tourist rates rather than what one would expect for a local neighbourhood?

The Burger Shack wasn't open for very long, was it? Less than a year?

Burger Shack/Fire Stables owned by Youngs so I guess they are reverting to a more traditional pub format.

We went to the Ivy Cafe in WV recently and thought it was meh.
It's the same in Hampstead village which must be the only place in London, or the uk or even the world where both Starbucks and McDonalds have shut down
The pubs are all being closed by developers who want to turn them into the ubiquitous luxury flats but there has been a bit of a fight back on that

It is a real shame. I heard our MP Stephen Hammond on the radio talking about it. He had nothing useful to add whatsoever.
Igloo was totally overpriced - even for the Village - so not a surprise.
Its my closest set of shops but I pretty much never go in any of the boutiques - I can't afford anything! Although I did spot Jamie Redknapp last week on the steps of Matches so I appreciate not everyone has this problem
I think there should be a better mix or it will be estate agents & wall-to-wall charity shops.

The Village is a fabulous place to go if you have a dog - you can walk on the common, then blitz the shop windows. Many places in the Village let you take the dog in with you, eg the bookshop. Sometimes - often - I think that Cafe Nero in the Village is the loveliest place in the world. Or my world, anyway.

What has that got to do with shops/businesses closing down in the village, though?

... and what bookshop?

Okay...only that people with dogs like the Village.

And shop there, in the affordable shops.

Wimbledon Books. Definitely a shop worth supporting.

www.wimbledonbooks.co.uk/

Wimbledon Village always seems special. In some ways it's like stepping back in time 30, 40, 50 or even more years. The whole 'vibe' is as the shopping experience used to be before the retail giants took over our high streets.

Totally get where you're coming from The Commoner. Don't have a dog but we do enjoy going up there to 'chill' and watch the world go by - it's really quite idyllic, isn't it?

Maybe WV has been 'over retailed' and is refinding its equilibrium?

Ah yes, I'd forgotten about that bookshop.

But the main reason for that, is I never go to the village now, because parking is impossible.

So as well as the high rents they charge for shops, there are - I'm guessing - fewer shoppers because you can only get up there if you walk/go on the bus.

You can park free over by Cannizaro Park. Or of course by the windmill. But I imagine the footfall is made up of:

• people who live in or around the Village and Common
• tourists
• people who exercise their dogs and/or children on the Common

If you go there at the weekend, there are a lot of dogs in evidence on the High Street. Dog lovers love that. Maybe they should just open lots of butcher's shops.

There used to be a really good butchers in the village - next to what's now the Ivy cafe if I remember rightly. Sadly that closed years ago too.

Hi my name is Genevieve and I would like to know the area better, the reason that I do not know the area much is because I only live here for 3 few months and in the U S the rest.I also have two girls(Stephany, almost 3, and Genevieve, 1 year 4 months, and I' am pregnant and due in August)so if anyone could help me get acquainted with the area and clubs for kids, ah well life in general around here I would be grateful.