London bagel shop fights plan to replace it with obesity clinic

The Jewish owners of a popular bagel shop in London vowed to fight their landlord’s plans to turn their building into an anti-obesity clinic.

Shalom Hot Bagels, located in the northeast part of the British capital, told The Jewish Chronicle that they had not been consulted on the move, which the building’s owners filed with municipal planning authorities, the London-based paper reported Friday.

“We don’t intend to let it happen,” a spokesman for the bakery, which was established 32 years ago, told the Chronicle. “We have a long lease with the landlord, and if the planning application gets approved we will fight it.”

The owners’ application for permission to renovate states that a practice with four consulting rooms, a dental suite and a sexual health testing facility would replace the store.

In the application, Client Design Services Limited, the company that the owners have contracted to handle the intended renovation, emphasized the need for a clinic to fight obesity.

Approximately 20 percent of children aged 4-5 and over a third of children aged 10-11 are overweight or obese, it wrote.

“It is estimated that 55% of adults are either overweight or obese. In addition to this, there is a growing prevalence of diabetes within this local community,” Client Design Services wrote. “The clinic will aim to provide weight loss and diabetes services.”