Opticians on Walkway shutting down
Six months to leave the space after lease is rescinded Opticians told a catering facility will replace them
The optician on the Sherfield Walkway is set to close. Just before Easter, the optician was called and told that the lease is being rescinded and that they have six months to leave – serving them notice is in the provisions of the lease. They will be gone by September and have been told that a new catering facility will be in their place.
Felix contacted Shabbir Khambalia BDS, Practice Director of Vision at SW7, who said: “The notice came as a great shock to us out of the blue. I was called one day just before Easter and told that my lease is being rescinded and that I have 6 months notice to vacate the premises. In an instant the College took away my livelihood. No alternative site has been offered and no real explanation given except that they want to increase the catering facilities within the College and our service does not meet the College’s requirements.”
Khambalia went on to say: “We have been extremely happy in the three years we’ve been at the College and feel [like we are] part of the community. I can proudly say [that the] majority if not all of our customers have been thoroughly happy with our service. This has been apparent with all the support we have already received from people, including the petition and writing to Sir [Keith] O’Nions [President & Rector of Imperial College London]. We will be extremely sad to leave the College.”
One of the letters sent to Sir Keith O’Nions praised the service and “superb care” offered and said that the writer was “surprised and dismayed” to hear the eviction and hoped the “absurd” and “flawed decision” would be changed. The letter went onto suggest the optician could move, saying: “It seems anyway rather odd that so small a space should apparently make such a difference to your plans for expansion – if this particular space is indeed so very vital could you not find room elsewhere on campus for Vision@SW7?”
Khambalia told Felix: “All staff and students whoare finding out about the closure are absolutely up in arms about it.” Khambalia said that the practice have no local area to relocate to at the present time.
The opticians has been there since 2000 and was bought by Vision at SW7 three years ago in a private deal with the previous owners. As a result of this purchase, Vision at SW7 say that their removal will mean “the loss of [a] £70,000 investment” and said that “no compensation [is] being offered”. College say that this loss is from the private deal made with the previous owners, which did not involve College.
Khambalia said that after buying the store they “have really turned it round and previous customers who had gone somewhere else are returning to us”.
The optician has started a campaign to be allowed to stay. This includes a petition in store and the posters (pictured) that have gone up in the windows.
