Dismay As White Stuff Site Taken Over By Estate Agent

Concern for future of Turnham Green Terrace as another retailer goes

Concern has been expressed about the future of retailing on Turnham Green Terrace after it was confirmed an estate agent is to take over the premises recently vacated by clothes retailer White Stuff.

This will bring the number of estate agents operating on the road into double figures and, when combined with the increased number of charity shops opening over the last few years, the range of goods on offer has shrunk significantly.

There has been a mixed reaction on the ChiswickW4.com forum to the news that Marsh and Parsons is taking the site with complaints that the street is already dominated by estate agents and charity shops, to the detriment of independent traders. It is only a few weeks since we reported that the site formerly occupied by Fat Face was to be taken over by Starbucks which already has four outlets in the W4 area.

Marsh & Parsons was set up by a former Foxton's executive, and has its headquarters in Hammersmith.

A spokesman told Chiswickw4.com that they looked forward to having a presence in Chiswick and they were confident they had something new to offer the local community.

One commenter said, "The independent shops rely on footfall and every time another Estate Agent arrives with change of use from retail to office there is less footfall."

Paul Corcoran commented on the forum, "they (Marsh and Parsons) have a huge inventory of unsold new build flats to sell and overseas buyers have disappeared and buy to let investors are rare because of tax changes. They will be hoping to sell to Chiswick residents looking to downsize or buy property in London for their kids".

It was also pointed out that in some cases the agents on Turnham Green Terrace are part of the same company operating different brand names. For instance Hamptons and John D Wood, which have premises on the road just a few yards apart, are both part of the Countrywide Plc chain. An independent local agent told us, "they are engaged in a war of attrition. They hope to create the impression of consumer choice but in reality they are trying to squeeze out competitors with less financial clout."

Despite the changes in recent times Turnham Green Terrace is still generally recognised as one of the most attractive shopping streets in West London with a core of high quality independent retailers still operating. Long established favourites such as Mackens the butchers have recently been joined by new ventures which are acknowledged to have been a positive addition to the road such as Hack & Veldt and Lemon and Limes.

A date for opening has not yet been announced.

March 1, 2018