The next steps to Save the Glamorgan pub on Cherry Orchard Road take place on Monday, with an important meeting at the Town Hall of those who wish to support the campaign.
The Glamorgan, marked up for demolition
Following coverage on Inside Croydon in the summer, moves were made by Addiscombe residents led by Labour councillor Sean Fitzsimons to stop a planning application to demolish the historic old boozer and build another block of flats – for residents in an area which has been steadily stripped of many of its public amenities, including its community pubs.
The owner’s application to demolish the 190-year-old building near East Croydon Station is on hold while an application to have the Glamorgan declared an Asset of Community Value is reviewed. If ACV status is granted, it means that the property owners will have to give the local community 18 months’ grace to find enough money to meet a reasonable market value for the building.
Once the immediate threat of demolition is averted, community campaigners can then set about finding a pub operator or model to run the place as a going concern. The Local Plan, which is going through a final round of consultation, now establishes pubs as community facilities which can be protected.
Fitzsimons has had a meeting with the property owners. “It is clear that at they are taking a bullish line and don’t think our campaign will come to much, or that at best our campaign is a naïve attempt to halt progress,” Fitzsimons said. “We need to show them that we are serious about this.”
Fitzsimons wants to use Monday’s meeting to move towards establishing a properly constituted voluntary group. “The feedback from council officers is that this would strengthen our case if there is an appeal against any awarding of ACV status,” Fitzsimons said.
“I hope we would be able to agree at the meeting to adopt an amended version of a constitution, and also widen the number of active members.”
Monday’s meeting is at 7pm in Room F10 at Croydon Town Hall. And the #SaveTheGlam campaign now has its own Facebook page, too.
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Rather than keep the existing pub, which presumably has sadly failed due to lack of support by the community, would it be possible for the council to write a planning brief for the redevelopment that would stipulate provision of a replacement pub or bar within the redevelopment ? One with a garden and drinking terrace (and smokers’ refuge!) Outdoor spaces, in a sunny location, attract patrons.
There is another nearby pub , the Porter and Sorter, by the taxi rank area at East Croydon Sation, which I assume is also under threat from redevelopment, although it seems popular. I think that this one is a better building than the Glamorgan, and I would hate to see it disappear.
Why not keep this pub, and build next to it, if necessary, over it, leaving the pub in a slot between yuppie flats? It’s sunny front terrace would be unaffected, if the new blocks are located sensibly.
The Porter and Sorter is scheduled for demolition, as part of the redevelopment of the Menta site and the old post office sorting office, from which the pub takes part of its name.
Whatever did happen to railway porters? Did they disappear with Will Hay?
Sad to learn of the upcoming demise of the Porter and Sorter. Sounds like we need a creative, real ale quaffing, pub-loving developer to come and make a niche for proper pubs in their Croydon developments. We need one with beer goggles, not myopia..
Porters disappeared from the railways a bit before the post office got rid of its eco-friendly railway mailvans, and on-board sorting, to move mail around the country, replacing the mail vans with long-distance lorries, no doubt heavily polluting, diesel powered.
Let’s hope that at least some real pubs survive in Croydon, and good luck to the Glam campaigners, if they manage to create a pub like the Hope in Carshalton.