Does anyone know what’s happening with 1–3 St David’s Road site (previously Big Cheeks)?
I spoke to one of the staff at St David’s Coffee at the start of the year, who rumoured it was going to be a “spa”-style fit-out (sauna etc.).
I’ve not seen any formal planning applications on the Lewisham portal (aside from a withdrawn application) or much sign of movement inside for a while.
It’s a great site especially with the outdoor area, shame for another property to remain empty.
Anyone here in the know?
I understand from the staff in The Signal next door that it will be a fitness place. A martial arts studio I think.
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Thanks for the update/insight. Interesting use of the space but nice to see something different coming into the area.
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There was a planning application in July 2026 for alterations to the shop fronts, which was refused by Lewisham planning in August, basically because the submitted documents didn’t have enough detail to enable a full assessment of the proposal.
There’s no direct information in that application about the proposed use of the unit but there is a supporting letter from the director of The Pass (Forest Hill) Ltd. The official nature of that business (ie what’s registered on Companies House) is ‘Sports and recreation education’. The company was incorporated in 2024 but the letter refers to restoring the shop front “to what it was when we renovated the building in 1991”. The two company directors were born in the mid-1980s so I don’t know who the “we” are.
One of the directors has an unusual name and quite an extensive online footprint, which I won’t go into. Suffice to say, it’s a married couple, one of whom has a sideline as a yoga teacher and they’ve had a long-term dream of opening a martial arts and yoga studio.
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I would hope that the applicant is the same Jeff that ran a very successful restaurant there throughout the 80s and 90s.
Does anyone else remember Romantique 11?
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Your search skills are second to none. 