one of the best pubs in london… application for the “Demolition of existing two storey public house building and construction of a five-storey mixed use building to provide 160sqm of commercial floorspace (Use Class A1/A2/B1) at ground floor and basment level with five self-contained residential units (comprising one x three-bed unit, two x two bed units and two x one -bed units) provided on the upper floors.”

http://easteight.com/plappshow.php?param=158243

It is very sad. Great pub that.

There was a campaign to save it last year but it looks like it didn’t work:

http://londonist.com/2010/09/save_the_wenlock_arms.php

Another says it’s been sold. If a planning application has been lodged doesn’t that suggest it’s been purchased already?

The buildings that surround it are either being demolished and built right now or there is already granted permission for their construction – so this is very much the last corner of a much larger development on the whole block. The current application was drawn up by the architects in July. I guess they recognize that this application might be refused – loss of a pub can be reason enough for refusal in some contexts, so have compartmentalised the site so they can sell it or keep it and still get on with the rest, if this application fails.

It’s worth looking at 2011/0604 for the British Lion on Hackney Rd. There’s another application in now but a previous one for demolition was refused as it “would result in the loss of public house as a single unit with ancillary residential accommodation and therefore would be contrary to policy 4.8 (Supporting a successful and diverse retail sector) and associated policy 7.1 (Building London’s neighbourhoods and communities) of the emerging London Plan October 2009 (Found sound March 2011).”

Hmm the plot thickens.
I’m not on facebook though so can’t see what’s going on on the campaign side of things:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/142674799109124/

Anything of note happening?

Excellent news.

The ‘application’ (actually it’s a notification) is 2011/3323

It’s a tricky one. It’s not an application for permission. You don’t need permission to demolish something that has no conservation status.

The prior application was for demolition AND construction of a new building. That required an application which, in its entirety, was refused. Now although the grounds for refusal really related solely to the removal of the pub, that just means the application as a package fails. Any previous application that has permission or any permitted development is still allowed.

So if you are the developer and are unsympathetic to the ‘vibe’ you get from the refused scheme you can just demolish the building. Can’t really do a lot with the site after that other than build another pub or bar; or let it stay vacant for so long that everyone admits defeat and the argument for retention of the amenity becomes a bit redundant.

More when I know what’s going on.

The full arguments and paperwork here. Pretty well written report. Well done Hackney’s Conservation team.