PLANET Video owner Hadyn Robinson says he is being forced to sell his neighbouring building on Beaufort Street because of difficult trading conditions and a costly battle with the local council.

Mr Robinson - who closed the iconic Planet Clothing business on the corner of Walcott and Beaufort Streets in Mt Lawley yesterday because of a “perfect storm” of challenging trading conditions - told PerthNow he was being forced to put the neighbouring red building up for sale after operating the diverse business since 1990.

He indicated that we was being forced to put the well-known Beaufort Street property on the market because of the costly three-year battle he endured with the Town of Vincent when seeking approval for Planet Café.

The property in question is the red building next door to the iconic blue Planet Video building on the corner which currently houses community radio station RTR FM and the other parts of Mr Robinson’s Planet Video empire such as the movie rentals and book store operations.

“The council put me through hell,” he said.

“I don’t know if you can sue a council but I am after blood.

“I want people in this area to know that they (the council) are in a large part responsible for the fact we have had to close down the corner and downsize.”

As reported by The Sunday Times yesterday, Mr Robinson plans to vacate the blue corner building by April, relocating the music, movies, posters and ticket sales upstairs above the existing movie rentals, bookstore and cafe parts of the business.

“We will continue to rent in the red building, which we own at the moment but we will have to sell, again because of what the council did to us,” he added.

“That will be on the market in the next four to five weeks.

“We want to rent the bottom (of the building) back, RTR is in the top.

“We will continue to try and do rental there but how much longer it has left I don’t know, and it depends on the rents.”

Mr Robinson, originally from Melbourne, suggested the spate of recent retail closures across Perth’s trendiest suburbs - including Mt Lawley, Subiaco and Perth - was due to unprecedented trading conditions, like massive rent hikes and the growing online shopping phenomenon, as well as planning issues with local government.

“If you’re talking about doing business in Perth, that’s one of the problems is getting stuff through planning,” he explained.

“They (local governments) want Melbourne, but they have no idea.

“I think the only other area to give you a fair go would be Victoria Park, reminds me of Mt Lawley 30 years ago.

“The river end will be the cool thing, there’s lots of people going over there because they can’t afford to live in Mt Lawley.”