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Kings Cross Environment 
Daniel,
I would expect that all the shops at the station would be closing – was this posting simply to alert local folks or was there some other comment you wanted to make?
I think a letter to Boots would be a good idea, pointing out that Network Rail are refusing to build a bridge as an east/west link. People on the the eastern side of the station regularly use Boots at KX cos it’s our nearest one. It’ll be a long walk around the station once the Handyside Bridge goes…
Hi Sophie and Stephan. Did I want to alert folks? Yes! Did I want to make a general point? Yes! I think Sophie hit on the nail, this thing happened in a row of closures of old guard shops around Kings Cross. I learned yesterday that the Red Lion on Kings Cross Rd, by far the most comfy pub in the area, closed, following closure of the local Vietnamese restaurant “Pho”, the flower shop, already mentioned juice shop (yes it wasn’t the best), and an Indian restaurant. Truely Boots is just opportunistic. They possibly calculated that St Pancras was near enough to justify the closure of Kings Cross Boots, plus the possible higher rate of customers meant they did not want to pay rent twice within a square mile. BUT all this affected by St Pancras and also the closure of Thameslink Kings Cross create a possibly dangerous vacuum. I know some new shops also opened, mainly coffee houses, and recently a branch of chain of osteopaths (not that we already had and handful osteopaths and Pilates teachers who have been working hard for years in the area). The picture is symbolic to me therefore for the discomfort of change and empty business units. As for Boots they did not have everything, but it was the nearest pharmacy for many, and open 7 days a week. OK we can all walk to St Pancras no big deal, but the shift towards the West should not become a trend. Kings Cross is a big railway station in its own right and at worst the area around it towards the East, South and North-East could become neglected in the name of its great St Pancras International Sister. Am I just paranoid, please say? Or does anyone else feel something of my discomfort?
Hi Daniel,
I definately share your discomfort, no you are not paranoid!
Boots KX has closed, leaving Boot St Panc. But, the concourse doesn’t come down until after 2012, so why close now? And, if we don’t get the bridge we are calling for at kingscrossaccess.com, the nearest Boots prescription counter will be at the end of our long walk to the stations…. I much prefer the new Boots, and am happy to get rid of the horrible existing concourse even though it means going a bit further for local shops. But, I’m not happy if we lose the local shops to St Panc and the Western Concourse and get no bridge to access them…. Phew. Does that make sense?!!
I did use the Boots in Kings Cross, but with it’s closure I will be using another Boots on the way to/from work and not be going to St Pancras as it is in the opposite direction.
I mentioned the closure to my wife, and she did say that she used the Clockwork Pharmacy on Caledonian Road – good pharmacy staffed by very helpful people (so she tells me). I think it is a chain, but obviously much smaller than Boots.
Perhaps this is an opportunity for another pharmacy to move to the bottom end of Caledonian Road to take advantage of the foot traffic that ends at Kings Cross and doesn’t go as far as St Pancras/Euston or beyond.
Ooo, ooo, I know the answer to this.
All the shops in the main concourse of Kings Cross will be closing over the next month or so, with the exception of WH Smith, which will retain a small presence.
This is because the space is needed for essential services such as left-luggage, while the western side of the station is redeveloped. I heard this direct from a Network Rail official.
Full report here: http://londonist.com/2008/07/platform_9_and_34_to_be_disapparate.php
Ooo, ooo, I know the answer to this.
All the shops in the main concourse of Kings Cross will be closing over the next month or so, with the exception of WH Smith, which will retain a small presence.
This is because the space is needed for essential services such as left-luggage, while the western side of the station is redeveloped. I heard this direct from a Network Rail official.
Full report here: http://londonist.com/2008/07/platform_9_and_34_to_be_disapparate.php