Category Archives: Uncategorized

Ta Ta Tesco

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For those of you new to the area, or those who are of a forgetful disposition as we are, you might not be aware that Tesco Kennington Lane will be closing forever in June. It will be replaced by a Tesco (probably the Metro variety) in the soon to vanish car park.

How can this be happening, you ask? Well several years ago Berkeley Homes purchased the Tesco site and the redundant gas holders behind it. After several years planning permission was granted for the construction of 728  new homes ranging from 4 to 17 stories, and 23, 000 sq. feet of commercial space. And taking a page out the King’s Cross book, one of the gas holders will have flats in it. The Lambeth planning application  (great for insomniacs) indicates that this will take 30 months (a gentle way of saying 2.5 years) but the Berkeley homes website indicates ‘Phase 1’ will take 40 months.

Not to worry, dear reader, when all is said and done there will be a new all singing and dancing Tesco, and a pic of it is below. The footprint is slightly smaller than the old store, but according to a consultation I went to last year it will be better laid out. Precisely how Berkeley Homes know how Tesco will lay out its store I’m not exactly sure.

If you want to make yourself feel all warm inside about our neighbourhood, have a gander at the slightly fictionalised description of Kennington/Oval on the Berkeley Homes website . Oval Village beckons!

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Come on Kennington!

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Denizens of North Kennington, are you aware that the video for a certain iconic*     pop song was filmed on your very doorstep? Yep, the fascinating video for ‘Come on Eileen’ by Dexy’s Midnight Runners was filmed in front of the unassuming corner shop below, at the corner Brook Drive and Hayles Street in 1982. The video also has larger shots of a rather grim looking SE11. The rubble across the street would later give rise to the homes built in the mid 80’s.  If you’re of an impatient disposition, the SE11 funness kicks off about 1:15 into the video.

*if you are over 45

Click here for the video.

If you want to ‘steal the look’ just borrow some old dungarees and don’t wash for a week. Feel free to post pics of your look in the comments section.Image.png-4

Hello beloved Kennington – and an article about toilets

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Hello Kennington, I am _______ and have just taken over the reigns of KR. The new KR towers are about 500 feet (kid you not) from the old KR towers, so expect your usual helping of restaurant fails and loves, vintage photos, secret discoveries, and hopefully contributions from readers in suburban Kennington. We’ve lived here for 13 years, just long enough to remember La Finca (say what?), now the Tommyfield.

Right, habitués of Central Kennington might be familiar with the former public toilet in the middle, which then became the former ArtsLav and now is the current home of weeds. My predecessor wrote about it in October, 2014. Well it apparently is now destined to be a bar, and the planning application can be found  here .  One thing is sure, people can’t say ‘where’s the loo’.

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