An Italian deli/restaurant to replace Big Fat Panda?

1 min read

Author: Cyril Richert

281 Lavender Hill SW11 1LP - Big Fat Panda
281 Lavender Hill SW11 1LP – Big Fat Panda

A new application has been registered yesterday for Big Fat Panda in Lavender Hill. Planning Application 2015/5108 (and 2015/5107 for a new signage) is proposing to convert the current Chinese buffet restaurant into an Italian restaurant and delicatessen chain (Valentina Fine Foods) with new exterior access for use of the garden as a seating area for the restaurant, and shopfront alterations.

It is surely a change welcomed by the local residents, in comparison to the outcry created by the former proposal of transforming the site into a bar/nightclub, which was eventually refused last May. The proposal is making use of the outside area, but the proposed opening hours are 8am to 11pm Monday to Sunday, which should limit disturbance to the neighbourhood.

The existing layout should be preserved with internal space making place for a restaurant along with a shop area, as shown in the drawing below.

Valentina-interior Valentina-exterior

This is again a proof that rejection of something considered inappropriate does not mean conservation of the existing (or what developers call often the “once in a lifetime opportunity”) and that a much better solution can take place to satisfy all parties.

You can read also the news on Cllr Cousins’ blog.

Did you like reading this article? Help us write more!

Clapham Junction Insider (formerly known as the CJAG website) has been publishing local news for over 14 years and remains committed to providing information about the local community and engaging in public interest journalism.

Our goal is to feature a wide range of community campaigns and initiatives, local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, and provide assistance to residents.

We have always been dedicated to these endeavours and have no intention of changing. In fact, we would like to expand our efforts further.

Until recently, all the stories, analyses, and reports published have been made possible with the invaluable help of many volunteers. However, it requires a significant amount of time and effort, and we are frustrated that we cannot do more. There are numerous topics we would like to cover, but we require financial resources to provide regular information.

Therefore, we kindly ask our readers to consider offering financial support to sustain these efforts. Any contributions made will help support community and public interest news, as well as the expansion of our coverage in this area.

2 ways of supporting our project

Do you think what we are doing is helping the community and you want to encourage us to do more? We have set up two ways of supporting our project:

  1. Paypal: For one-off contributions, you can just use your bank card. However if you wish to encourage and support us regularly with a small amount, you will need a Paypal account to set up a monthly subscription. Click here to donate.
  2. Patreon: this is a well-known membership platform that connects content creators with supporters. Mainly, it offers financial tools that let supporters subscribe to projects that give creators a predictable income stream as they continue to create content. Click here to subscribe and support us regularly.

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.

CJI editor and Clapham Junction Action Group co-founder and coordinator since 2008, Cyril has lived in Clapham Junction since 2001.
He is also funder and CEO of Habilis-Digital Ltd, a digital agency creating and managing websites and Internet solutions.

View all

You might be interested in

Latest from Blog