| Topic: | Re:The long slow decline of Devonshire Road.. | |
| Posted by: | Francis Rowe | |
| Date/Time: | 21/07/23 07:34:00 |
| People cycling the wrong way up this road has always been a thing and I don't think it has any relevance to the decline or otherwise of Devonshire Road. One thing that the restrictions have changed is the number of chauffer driven cars waiting outside La Trompette. Pre-Covid there often used to be several of them in the evening with presumably City firms taking top clients out to a Michelin starred restaurant. Anyone claiming these issues are clear cut has an over-simplistic view. Obviously it is a good thing that large cars are no longer blocking the road and polluting the air by keeping their engines running. However, it needs to be considered what the impact has been on La Trompette. The owners recently closed The Glasshouse in Kew and we know that things are challenging right now for the high end restaurant business. Few of us will probably eat in La Trompette regularly, if at all, but if it was to go, the knock on effect for other businesses on Devonshire Road would be pretty catastrophic. This would particularly be the case if, like with The Italian Job, the next tenant was discouraged by possible licensing objections from opening a restaurant and we ended up with a business that brought limited or no footfall to the road. |