DEAR PROPERTY WORLD

[Rachael]

We have decided therefore to introduce an immediate 6 month moratorium on the use on boards above commercial premises on Sydenham Rd (the High St as defined as Cobbs Corner to Bell Green but obviously this will extend up Kirkdale when relevant). All existing boards will be removed and no further boards will be erected (above commercial premises) during this period. We will use the six months to evaluate the commercial impact this decision has had on our business and to also consult with our clients (predominately our major landlords). Some landlords or vendors may feel strongly that a board will assist us in finding a buyer or tenant for their property. If so, this is something we will have to think about and discuss with them. We will obviously explain our decision and hope they agree with us and see the benefit to the wider community. Given the strength of feeling on this issue (on this forum at least) we hope it proves feasible to make our ban permanent.

I hope people appreciate the significance of this decision for us and accept it in the spirit it has been proposed. We are also more than happy to meet up with people to discuss this and indeed any other issue. I would like to add that obviously we aren’t the only estate agent in Sydenham and the removal of our boards isn’t going to fix this entire problem. But we are keen to do our bit and take a lead.

It goes without saying that the boards alone aren’t the only reason the high street looks a little scruffy and it would be interesting to hear peoples views on how we tackle littering, graffiti, dog s**t on the pavement, spitting and some of the other things that can make walking on the high st a depressing experience at times.

dan crowley

If this forum had a 'round of applause' smiley, I'd use it right now.

It will be really interesting to see how this experiment pans out and I do hope you'll keep us posted about how the lack of boards affects (or doesn't) your business. If you find they aren't as necessary as you thought, you can use your no-boards policy as a positive selling point for your local business (but don't do that while the experiment is ongoing - we need as close to control conditions as possible!). Good luck.

[marymck]

Excellent news - thank you Daniel.

I hope other estate agents will follow your example. Not all agents ensure their contractors do not damage property. My husband and I can speak of Foxtons and Acorn here - both of whom have damaged our brick garden wall with six inche nails. And it wasn't even our house that was being sold or let!! Recently, I witnessed six inch nails being removed from a Pedder board and thrown into Panmure Road and I noticed another nailed into one of the beautiful (and Conservation Area protected) garden walls of the Thorpes.

Better advertising is - as you have kindly done - sponsorship. The sponsorship of floral displays and local events leaves a much better impact with the locals.

Can I also suggest that agents (I'm afraid I don't know if this applies to your site) make it easier to search their websites by street name, rather than a search resulting in a tsunami of SE26 properties.

I completely agree with your comments about the other things that deface our streets ... I think dog mess is not such an issue in the High Street as it is in some of the side streets - or in the road leading from Penge High Street to the station, which is a virtual sea of dog poo. I find chewing gum and spitting more of a problem and I would like to see fines introduced for this.

Seconded too, your opinion of graffiti - which I hate being called "street art". If someone has commissioned it - fine. If it's defacing someone's property it should be removed and the culprit fined to cover the cost.

I completely applaud what Property World are proposing to do and I urge other agents to follow suit.

[sydeman]

Thanks Dan, an excellent response, and i for one fully appreciate your support of the arts in the local borough. I am pleased also that you replied as a company, and not as a pseudenym as other estates agents do on this forum.

[jonekt]

That's great news & definately to be applauded. This has got me thinking, that as part of the push for regeneration & the Mary portas fund that some kind of badge or symbol should be displayed in the window of shops that actively support the regeneration of Sydenham by taking proactive actions. I would definately be more inclined to support shops that support the regeneration. It would create an environment where local shops & the community both benefit.

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[leenewham]

Brilliant news Dan, really great news.

I hope everyone involved in the Portas bid or high streets tweets and publicises this as much as possible to give Property World the publicity they deserve.

Who knows, we may even get to persuade others.

As Dan said, it isn't the only problem, and hopefully we can address those with the money from the Portas bid, High Street Innovation Fund and other pots of money that will come online in the near future.

But this is step in the right direction and shows that local businesses do care about their high streets and can make a difference.

Thanks and I'll pop around with the champagne later Dan

P.S. An extra personal thanks for your support for the Family Fun Day in Home Park.

[NatashaM]

Wow - this is amazing. Thank you (and your brother), Dan.

This has made me very well disposed towards PW - will keep them in mind when we sell.

[poppy]

If we are going to name and shame businesses for adding to the general rundown feel of our high street would anyone join me in putting pressure on Lloyds bank about the swathe of weeds outside their branch at the top of Venner Road?

I have written to them before about this and from time to time the weeds seem to be removed but no long-term solution sought. They could just resurface that area, which seems to be theirs, with tarmac and gravel (don't know what this is called but you sometimes see it around the base of street trees - it gives a nice textured affect whilst doing a good job at keeping things tidy).

Poppy

[leenewham]

It's this Poppy:
http://www.pavingexpert.com/resin.htm

Just to clarify my orignal post, I"ve worked estate agents as part of GLA high street schemes to try to get them to remove boards from high streets. It's always been a case of 'we want to but we shall see what everyone else does'. Talking directly to the businesses generally hasn't worked, even with pressure from the council. The What If Sydenham project started here on this forum and has been successful as shop fronts are now on the radar. A number of shops came to us after we started (and even more after we designed Billings) but we were too busy to carry out the work.

I thought to take the forum route, to raise the issue in an open letter may pave the way to some sort of progress on this matter. It wasn't intended, despite how it may seem, as a name and shame, it was intended as a way of getting people to talk about it with a specific businesses and hopefully add some weight to the argument to remove them. Property World took the bait, all to their credit. Plus they got some PR for the great work they have done investing in the local community and the arts.

We shouldn't be thinking of naming and shaming, but raising issues that local businesses may not even notice that they can change so people can comment on them and we can gauge the public reaction. It's invaluable research and a great way to use a forum.

Hopefully it will be used a little more like this in the future, to define problems and push towards solutions to help local businesses and install a bit more pride in our high street.

[Tim Lund]

I would like to follow up this thread by setting up a page on a Wordpress site in which Estate Agents' board are logged as they go up and either do what they are supposed to do - e.g. help sell a property, and give the successful agent the appropriate kudos - or are left up cynically as free advertising, dragging down the area.

There is no doubt that this is possible - there are Wordpress plug ins which will do most of the job - I have been experimenting with a basic plug in, but I find there is also a 'comprehensive'one. I've also been down Sydenham Road taking photos of various estate agent board and reducing them to the right dimensions to be bespoke map markers for each agent - and it works. However, there is more work to be done in making the process of logging boards and when transactions go through user friendly - it would be nice to have a special form open to registered users of the web site, but this requires some development work with is not my speciality. It would also be nice if such a project benefited from Lee's visual design expertise.

If we could get this going, it would be possible to maintain a score of local agents, identifying the ones which combine achieving results for their clients and respecting the local community. Whichever Estate Agent this is should be recognised by a nice big banner on the web page along the lines of "THANK YOU PROPERTY WORLD / ACORN / UNIPLAN / PEDDERS / etc. etc."

There is obviously a strong link between this idea and what I wrote on the Want to help deliver Sydenham’s Portas scheme?

[Zoelee]

We've called uni plan three times to remove a board from outside our place on Westwood Hill. Hasn't been removed.

[Annie.]

Tear it down and put it in the bin.

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[Whiftoff]

Yes Lee good views. But you can buy a house with an even better view at plazaestates!

Live in comfort

[Whiftoff]

Doesn't make a lot of sense now the previous post has been removed.