Kentish Town Lidl

• THE recent news regarding the closure of the Kentish Town Lidl came as a surprise to some and many would love for it to remain open.

However, there are several reasons why this would not be the best or most practical solution in the long run and we should take the opportunity to advocate for a superstore to be opened within the Regis Road or York Way vicinity.

There are already a significant amount of local stores dotted around, full of endless queues, not limited to peak times, but rather affected by tourism, events and local attractions.

Along Kentish Town Road all three local stores have experienced disrepair; and which at face-value aren’t fit for purpose and are not large enough for the local demographic alone.

Many of us travel to complete our shops, those with larger families may shop online but the majority of us deserve a store that stocks the complete range that superstores in Greater London stock and at a lower cost.

In central London prices are adjusted to accommodate rent and other store expenses. This can be challenging in normal economic times, let alone the current cost-of-living crisis. It is simply unaffordable to keep shopping in “local” stores; likewise, it is unaffordable to travel out.

Additionally, it is unfortunate that with large redevelopment throughout Camden ­– specifically, King’s Cross – many Camden residents, regardless of income, have to travel further for their shops. Especially given that many of these schemes are car-free and many Londoners are being encouraged to go green through the current ultra low emission zone requirements and low traffic neighbourhoods.

Kentish Town caters to people from Camden, King’s Cross, Holloway and so forth, including students and those employed in the area, while there are superstores like the Camden Sainsbury’s, Lidl in both Tottenham Court Road and Holloway and further, the superstores cater to wider demographics on each of their perimeters.

I urge change-makers within Camden to speak up about this as this serves the community and will sustain everyone young and older, regardless of class and status.

If any of you work or are experienced in business, research, real estate, government or live, work and study within the local community, let’s get together to formulate a long-term solution which can benefit us all.

TIANAH
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