A much loved family business may be forced to close after a planning application was submitted to turn the building into a studio apartment.

Together with his late father Bob, Rob Dobson has run Dobson Upholstery in South Norwood for nearly 40 years.

But now the owner of the building wants to turn it into a one person flat.

"We'll have to move, but I'm limited to where I can go," Mr Dobson told the Croydon Guardian of what will become of the shop if the application is approved.

"It's quite sad really as it seems like all the shops around here are being turned into flats."

Unfortunately for the family, this isn't the first time they have been forced out.

For the business' first 20-odd years, it operated out of Portland Road.

This was before that building was also turned into flats.

Mr Dobson said it would be a shame to leave their High Street home, as he believes they bring a unique value to the community.

"You see so many coffee shops and chicken shops nowadays, I think we bring something a little different," he said.

He isn't the only one upset about the possibility of the store's closure.

A petition has been started to help save the business, with more than 200 having signed in less than a day.

There have also been 36 objections (at the time of publishing) on the planning application itself.

One concerned resident is Adam Dreyfus-Gibson.

He believes it is terrible that an independent business like Dobson is under threat.

"It must make all traders on the High Street fearful of the same thing happening to them," he said.

"No one else in the local area offers what they do and they will be missed by the community if they were to have to close and leave the area. "When the wider community found out that Dodson Upholstery was at risk there was a real groundswell of support for them - this is one of the wonderful things about South Norwood, we support and look after each other."

In the application submitted by A M Surveying & Block Management it said that the new home would "be in keeping with the neighbouring properties."

"The property forms part of the district centre but does not form part of the main or secondary retail frontages.

"The property is a small retail unit that is isolated and on the border of the district centre.

"This area has been put forward to be removed from the district centre in the proposed changes to Croydon’s Local Plan."

To sign the petition, click here, or to comment on the application, click here.