The landlords, the retail property investment company London & Associated Properties (LAP), sent out letters last week telling all the dealers to leave by October 1.
This latest move by LAP comes in spite of their planning application to remove the individual dealers’ shop units being unanimously rejected by an Islington Council planning committee in April. Their appeal against this decision is still pending.
It is thought that LAP are attempting to convert the two floors at the Grade II listed building into single units in order to sell the space to a multi-national chain.
The deputy leader of Islington Council, Terry Stacy, said: “I was absolutely amazed that the owners have given notice to quit even before the planning appeal has been heard.
“We have written to the owners asking for a reprieve, appealing to them to withdraw the notices to quit at least until the appeal process is over.
“The traders have our full support in their fight to stay in Islington.”
LAP had originally told the 30 or so dealers to quit by July, but this was before their application for Listed Buildings Consent was rejected. The traders have now had to sign rolling leases for their premises with the landlords holding one month’s rent as a deposit.
In the meantime, some of the dealers have already left with a number finding space elsewhere in Camden Passage.
Over in West London at Antiquarius, the King’s Road antiques centre that LAP purchased from Atlantic Estates in 2006 in the same deal as The Mall, dealers also remain uncertain as to the future.
Here the owners have now withdrawn their planning appeal to redevelop the premises after their application to gain Listed Buildings Consent was rejected by Kensington & Chelsea Council in June.
Controversially, the landlords began the building work before gaining planning consent, and were told to stop by the council.
At the moment, a temporary partition runs through the middle of the centre with one side standing empty and the other left half renovated. It is thought the landlords are trying to create a new larger unit for another fashion shop or international chain.
LAP, however, have re-submitted their original application to the council, which can be viewed online at www.rbkc.gov.uk/Planning under the ‘current applications’ section. The case number is 01929.
The dealers’ association LAPADA have once again expressed their objections to the council after they were told that complaints and objections from the original application are not directly transferable to the new one.
A spokesman for Kensington & Chelsea Council said a decision on this new application was “imminent”.
When contacted by ATG, no one at LAP was available for comment.
By Alex Capon
