Can’t believe the MOT station underneath the railway bridge, at the back of FH station, is being sold at auction. It’s been there as long as I can remember, although I believe it was a wood yard prior to that.
I wonder if it will result in yet more flats?
The wood yard was further up between the station and Forest Hill Cars.
Well spotted; could have important implications for the Forest Hill Town Centre renewal plan.
I believe this substantial building is the original coal shed for the early version of Forest Hill station. (originally known as Dartmouth Arms station when the railway arrived in 1839 and before Forest Hill really existed at this location).
Having survived that long under various guises I think it would be nice if the building could be re-used imaginatively, but I’m not holding my breath for its survival at all. Expect another stark 6 storey block of cubes which will envelop that whole area very soon with current plans in the pipeline for the area just east of the tracks.
It would make an incredible tap house for a local brewery. I’m allowed to dream aren’t I?
That would be amazing - but I fear that at a guide price of £1.4m, the only people interested in buying it will be developers looking to make a return on investment via a dense block of private flats 
Yep would be a lovely place to live - on the south circular, right by the railway line and under the London City concentrated flight path. A haven of tranquility.
@anon17648011, you need to turn that frown upside down!
Fantastic rail and road links literally on your doorstep - no need for an app as you can check transport delays using a window.
Cycle to work? Bike shop on your doorstep.
You will want to celebrate your new purchase at the banquet hall across the road!
I’ve been taking a car there to be MOT’d for over 15 years.
It’s quite bizarre, as of the end of this year I’ll probably be carless.
It is a great garage. Always get MOT and small repairs done here. Will they move the business somewhere else?
It would be so nice if it could become something like an indoor farmers market, with micro brewery and food stalls open 7 days a week. with pop up craft and vintage sellers at weekends. If I could buy it that what I’d do a bit like Vinegar yard in Borough.
(or Copeland park/Bussey building)
But then again I sadly agree that yes it’ll be another ugly bland block of flats 
Agreed, nice guy that runs it. Wonder if he’s relocating?
Or it could be a new station car park, so that the existing car park could be liberated for a pedestrianized area which could also be used for farmers’ market and other events.
And with a lift directly up to the platform so that those of us with wheels don’t have to go the long way around…
I find it odd that a big chunk of the existing site isn’t being offered in the plot for sale - so there isn’t as much scope as it might appear at first glance.
From memory the remaining area facing Waldram Crescent was part of the wood yard.
I think its ommission from this lot might be a big snag at this kinda money
Now listed as sold for £1,550,000!
! Indeed!
Someone is going to make a lot of money out of that!
How many storeys do you reckon for it to be that profitable?
Hotel or flats - place your bets now.
Either way, the building will mark the entrance to forest hill from the perspective of a S Circular driver so it will likely be an improvement.
It may have to compete the forthcoming developments on the Co-Op and old Portacabin sites though…
Hi John, it’s a good question. I presume you mean if it were to be turned into apartments? New 3 bed flats on Clyde Terrace (Se23 3BA) are being sold under the dubious shared ownership scheme on the Mayor’s ‘Home for Londoners’ website for £565,000. 2 beds are £480,000. Maximum in this ‘help to buy’ scheme is £600,000 so it is not completely unreasonable to suggest that an attempt would be made to sell the 3 beds at this, but let’s say £550,000 for the 3 beds and £450,000 for the 2 beds. Current new build 3 beds not aimed at the super rich are coming in at around 95sqm and 2 beds at around 67sqm. My maths is terrible, but in theory using these figures it wouldn’t need to be too high to possibly make a profit on land of these dimensions. But of course, we don’t know if planning permission has even been granted on this land, it would be a terrible shame to lose the old Coal shed (or whatever it was). It will be very interesting to see who has actually bought it and I suppose who actually sold it! I imagine it could be of great value to Network Rail/TFL as it would be very important to any station upgrades in the future.
Interesting.
Thank you.
Excellent news - that whole part of Forest Hill is a real dump and it’s an embarrassment when I walk through it with visitors. With the additional new build flats and 2(?) new hotels being built there, it should help reinject some more footfall and shine to the area, thereby attracting more development and visitors. Forest Hill is looking up!
Owww, poor Perry Vale. It may not be the most attractive corner of SE23 but it’s still beautiful in my eyes. HOPcrossbun, save your embarrassment and whip out this picture to amaze your visitors on arrival.
They will no longer see a dump, but a place laced with history and intrigue where every step only takes the soul closer to the very heart of time itself …and possibly a hair salon.
Great photo!
Where did that come from?
In some ways was surprised to see the MOT garage being sold but at that price it was only ever going to be a developer showing any interest, You would need to do a lot of MOTs to get a return ?
I wonder if they will try and purchase the rest of that corner, Right round the corner where Forest Hill Cars are right up including the yard that sells the Christmas Trees ?
Surely FHCars must be on there last legs, With all the Apps +Uber who needs a Cab office .
Have you been there in the last few months? I think that area is probably one of the shiniest in London, if not the world.
People who don’t have smart phones, ( there are some). People who like to support local businesses. Cab drivers who know the area. I could go on
All true, and I still prefer to use my local minicab office near work when I’ve missed last trains etc, but it has to be hurting their business you’d have thought. Really one where local companies will need to sell on service and reliability - people do often want to use local firms but I suspect many of a younger age than me would only use apps, and that will only get worse for companies like this. I’ve often thought if one specialised in the family market, had more car seats or guaranteed them it give them a boost.
Hi Anotherjohn, It really is isn’t it!? It comes from the website ‘https://britainfromabove.org.uk/en’, somebody did post about it a while ago. I would really urge you to log into it as you can then see high resolution images - this is only part of a bigger image. In the original picture I have posted from 1937 (pre-bomb damage) you will notice the building at the bottom to the left of the church. That is the mid-nineteenth century ‘red hall’. The incredible thing is that part of it still exists I am attaching a picture of it as it was and also how it exists now from google maps. It is also fascinating that all this was built on ancient common land called, ‘Pickthorns’. This name still exists in the name of the post war blocks on the corner of Westbourne Drive and South Road, Pikethorne. You will also notice that these blocks share a very similar footprint to the grand villas that stood before them and are clearly visible here. I live in Pikethorne, and I love looking out the back at the open land and imagining how it would have been used hundreds of years ago - apologies in advance to the moderators for going off topic!
also a clear view of the brewery buildings next to the All Inn One, and the road that passed behind it with a row of terraced housing.
Indeed! Let’s bring the old Forest Hill brewery back and put it in the old building that has just been auctioned!
Has anyone heard any rumours about what the old MOT place on Waldram Place will be? I’m guessing it’ll likely be knocked down and turned into flats, but it’d be great if the building was kept and refurnished in some way. I have dreams of a Brick House style bakery/cafe thing…
