Planners say no to Belsize Park launderette becoming a shop
Long-running battle to keep laundry service continues
Monday, 16th May 2022 — By Tom Foot
The launderette in England’s Lane
THE Town Hall has rejected a move to turn a launderette that burnt down in a fire last year into a shop.
The New Journal reported how the owner of England’s Lane Launderette in Belsize Park had applied to change its use to retail.
The council refused the application arguing the launderette was an “essential service” and its loss would be “detrimental to the character, function, vitality and viability of England’s Lane”.
It added that a new business would “contribute unacceptably to parking stress and congestion” and there was no agreement to fund eight cycle parking spaces nearby.
The launderette, run by popular manager Celia King, was destroyed in a fire in June last year.
In November, Ms King told the New Journal she expected the business to reopen with a focus on affordable dry cleaning services.
This week the boards around the business were removed revealing an empty shell but without any washing machines or dryers.
The business’s owner Justin Landau has declined to comment when asked by the New Journal about the future of the business.
