East London & City Branch

Save The Pub Welcome to the East London & City CAMRA Save The Pub Section. Here in the capital we have a major threat to our pubs. This threat takes on many forms, from supermarkets and convenience stores, through betting shops and payday loan firms, to greedy developers wanting to make a quick profit on hastily thrown up blocks of overpriced flats. In the East London & City area, we have lost around HALF our pubs in the last 30 years. In some postal areas, the attrition rate is even higher. It is time to stop the rot! At the 2013 CAMRA national conference, Motion 12 was carried calling upon all branches to appoint a pubs preservation officer with lead responsibility for mounting or supporting campaigns to save threatened pubs and to secure the adoption of planning policies supportive of community pubs. Here in East London & City, the pubs preservation officer is James Watson. Contact him at savethepub@pigsear.org.uk James will be fighting hard on behalf of the branch on two principal campaign aims over the coming months: Working with local authorities, the London Assembly, other CAMRA branches and CAMRA HQ to influence and improve planning law and planning policies so that pubs receive proper legal protection as the vital community institutions that they are; Working locally in the branch area to actively preserve what pubs we have left by supporting local campaign groups fighting to keep pubs open and by encouraging and nurturing the re-establishment and re-opening of any closed or disused pubs in our area. There are a variety of different reasons why half our pubs have vanished over the last 30 years. Perhaps we had too many? Was there oversupply? People have different leisure activities today to what they had 30 years ago The smoking ban The economic downturn Cheap supermarket booze Changing demographics of the population The beer-tie Tax, business rates, licensing issues Changes in social attitudes towards drinking at lunchtime or drinking and driving All these issues (and many more) have played a part. However in London the issue of pub closures is particularly severe despite there being a huge population and lots of tourist trade providing a solid customer base. The culprit is land prices! From around 2001 onwards, the trend of pubs being bought cheap and turned into lucrative flats or houses by rapacious developers has steadily increased and continues today. We all know that successful well-managed pubs are sound businesses and make a profit. They cannot compete with the immediate capital resale value of land with development potential. The ground that these lovely historic buildings sit on is worth more than the ongoing business of the pub in the eyes of faceless corporate greed. What about the needs of the local community, the wishes of the neighbours or the loss of the social amenity by London’s pub users? Local authorities ought to be fighting for these groups. Sadly in many cases they do not. That is where your local CAMRA branch should, can and now will assist. Our long-serving regional director and former CAMRA national exec member, John Cryne, has recently stepped down from the regional director role to focus exclusively on being the CAMRA North London pubs preservation officer – that is how important he considers the role to be! Many CAMRA branches do not have a pubs preservation officer but are being encouraged by HQ to appoint one urgently. The preservation of the remaining pubs that we have in this country is a top priority for CAMRA and forms one of our leading campaigns. It is also a top local priority for us here in East London & City CAMRA and one we are taking very seriously. How can WE help YOU save London’s Pubs? Firstly, we cannot wave a magic wand and save every pub from closure. If only. Even CAMRA recognise that there are some circumstances, usually rare, where closure or demolition of a public house is the best solution. However we will always begin from a standpoint of trying to save any pub building, whether there be an active trading pub business present or not. If you are concerned about the future of your local, or a pub that you like to use, there are steps we can take to support you and assist in saving it. As a volunteer organisation we cannot run every single pub campaign in our area as we simply do not have the resources or time. We can give remote support and assistance to an established campaign or try to start a new campaign that local people and users of the pub can then continue. Examples of the help we will offer are: Planning law issues – how to object to planning applications with the local authority Working with the local authority to guide them in their approach to pub protection through planning tools e.g. Conservation Areas, Article 4 Directions, Registration as an Asset of Community Value Help local campaign and community interest groups prepare submissions for registration as an Asset of Community Value (ACV) under the Localism Act 2011 Use our contacts to help spread the word and provide additional publicity via London Drinker, CAMRA websites, local press, local blogs, social media etc. Advise on contacting decision makers and opinion formers – Ward Councillors, Mayor, Assembly Member, MP, Mayor of London (we have even written to Her Majesty the Queen about pub protection!) We have extensive contacts in the private sector including breweries and pub operators who are constantly seeking new outlets. We may be able to save your pub by finding a suitable buyer who is willing to take it on. Helping you mobilise local support from the immediate and wider community using poster campaigns, rallies, pop-up-pubs, petitions, door-stepping and leaflet drops Pointing out flaws in any proposal to convert to residential, demolish or change of use (in some cases unfortunately planning permission may not be required but we can still lobby local authorities to take action if there is strong community support for the pub) Object with your campaign to any loss of the pub in our capacity as an established consumer rights organisation Pub under threat? Need advice? Want to start a campaign but do not know where to begin? Email savethepub@pigsear.org.uk How can YOU help US save London’s Pubs? Intelligence is key! Many pubs close overnight because nobody takes an interest to highlight their plight. We hear about pubs being sold under the radar without the local community being aware and then we often get told the day before (sometimes just minutes before!) demolition begins. By this stage it is too late to save the pub. If you have information on a pub under threat, PLEASE let us know immediately. Time is of the essence. There is no substitute for drinking in and using your pubs. Regular pub-goers represent our eyes and ears on the front line. The honest and loyal users of London’s boozers are effectively our spies. Nobody knows better than you what is going on at your local, apart from perhaps the landlord. Talk to the landlord, talk to the bar staff, talk to the other regulars. Find out what the status is of your treasured local. Who owns it? Is it freehold or leased? Who is the pub co? Who does the landlord pay rent to? How long is the lease? Are there any planning applications in your local council paper? Any notices or “For Sale” signs outside the pub? Spot anything dodgy, report it to us. The sooner we hear the more chance we have of helping to save it. Spread the word, keep your eyes and ears open and email anything of interest to savethepub@pigsear.org.uk  There will be updates on our local pub preservation activities here. Current Campaigns Chesham Arms - Hackney Listed as an Asset of Community Value after a massive local campaign. Pub still shut but we have high hopes. See www.savethechesham.org Waltham Oak - Walthamstow  Planning application to change into Mosque. We are supporting the local campaign and will be objecting to this change of use. Awaiting a date for planning sub-committee. See https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheWalthamOak  Duke of Cambridge - Cambridge Heath Local campaign with Tower Hamlets to list the pub as an Asset of Community Value. The owner has announced his intention to demolish the pub and build flats. We will be opposing this. Old Spotted Dog - Forest Gate This interesting Grade II listed building has been standing empty for a few years now and sits in generous grounds. It is in need of work and the administrator is attempting to obtain planning permission for conversion. A local campaign group are working with Newham Council to explore ways in which the pub could be brought back into use. We are providing advice and support. Widow’s Son (The Bun House) – Poplar This historic pub risks being squeezed by new houses on both sides and a new residential floor above! The pub is Grade II listed and will be retained for now. However the scheme involves building on the pub beer garden which is being opposed by the tenant and the regulars. There are only three years left on the lease and we consider this move to be the thin end of the wedge. Hence we are opposing this development which could restrict and compromise the future potential of the Widow’s Son. Marquis of Lansdowne – Hoxton Our friends at the Spitalfields Historic Buildings Trust fought a worthy campaign which resulted in the defeat (at least for now) of the plans by the Geffrey museum to demolish this beautiful Georgian corner pub in a conservation area. The trust is attempting to purchase the building and reopen it as a pub after some twenty years of closure. We fully support their aims. Follow the progress at http://savethemarquis.wordpress.com/