Local campaigners in Addiscombe are hoping that enough people lodge protests before today’s deadline to object to developers’ appeal over the rejection of their plans to demolish a long-closed pub on Cherry Orchard Road and build 24 flats on the site.
Long-neglected, much-damaged: locals accuse the owners of allowing squatters to move in to The Glamorgan, to make it more difficult to restore as a pub
The Glamorgan closed in 2016, after which the building was bought by developers.
Locals, sometimes assisted by Croydon Council, have been fighting a rearguard action against the dilapidated pub’s threatened demolition ever since.
Building owners Butlers Walsall Ltd had their most recent planning objection rejected by Croydon Council’s planning committee in April this year. But they have taken their case on appeal to the planning inspector. That decision, after the decade-long saga, could be final.
Ron Appleby, the chair of the Save the Glamorgan Campaign, issued a plea at the weekend: “Say no to the demolition of the Glamorgan Public House!”
Appleby wants the public of Addiscombe and East Croydon “to tell the planning inspector that we don’t want our historic community public house destroyed and replaced with a seven-story block of flats”.
In the proposals, the developers have included a small ground floor space, ostensibly so that a pub could operate within the building. But objectors say that this is a ruse, and the space set aside is too confined to be a viable pub.
“We continue to have to fight hard to preserve the building that was once the much-loved community pub,” Appelby said.
“The freehold owners, Butlers Walsall Ltd, have now lodged an appeal against Croydon Council’s rejection of their last wholly unsuitable development application.”
Appleby says that the bar space in Butlers Walsall’s plans “is a cynical ‘designed to fail’ affair”.
Appleby said: “We all now have to add our objections to the appeal, so that the planning inspectorate takes the needs of the local community into full account when considering the appeal.
“Otherwise, the Glamorgan will be demolished and lost for good.”
The Save the Glamorgan campaigners are asking objectors to state that they support refusal of the appeal on the following grounds:
- We support the decision of Croydon Council’s planners to refuse to grant planning permission
- The proposed development would be excessively tall, bulky and out of scale, making it dominant and incongruous with the surrounding area. Its design, materials, and façade would fail to integrate successfully with the local townscape, while the layout, including undercroft features and fragmented windows, would lack cohesion and sufficient design quality. This would harm the area’s character and appearance, conflicting with Policies D3, D4, and D6 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018)
- The proposed development would not provide an adequate standard of residential accommodation due to insufficient private amenity space, poor accessibility and the absence of a noise assessment to evaluate road and railway impacts, as well as an assessment of the noise associated with the proposed public house use. This would conflict with Policies D6 and D7 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018)
- The proposed development, by virtue of its excessive height, scale and proximity to neighbouring properties, would result in a building with an overbearing impact, causing a loss of outlook, daylight, and sunlight for adjacent residents. In the absence of a development-specific daylight and sunlight assessment, the extent of harm has not been fully assessed, contrary to Policy D6 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10.6 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018).
The building is more than 160 years old, and operated as a successful pub and hospitality business until its owners chose to sell-up as they were leaving the area.
The Save the Glamorgan Campaign was successful in getting the building listed as an ACV – an Asset of Community Value – as it was able to demonstrate to Croydon Council that it was more than just a drinking establishment, but played a key role in the local community. ACV status lapsed after five years “as the developer didn’t meaningfully engage with the local community and set an unrealistically high price of over £2million” for the building, say the campaigners.
The planning appeal reference is APP/L5240/W/25/3373162
To make a comment to the Planning Inspectorate you have to use their online appeals service, reached by clicking here, entering this reference 3373162.
Towering proposal: the plan for the Glamorgan site on Cherry Orchard Road
More than 1,000 homes – flats – have been built between Cherry Orchard Road and the main railway line in the last five years.
“The population of East Croydon is growing, and the area desperately needs to maintain its key community anchor points, such as the Glamorgan. Saving the Glamorgan from demolition will help knit together this growing new community,” Appleby said.
The Save The Glamorgan campaign’s Community Interest Company, Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd still exists, although dormant.
One of the three directors of Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd is Rodger Molyneux, who in 2010 was among a group of Carshalton residents who helped save their local, The Hope, from doom and destruction and turned the venue round to become a multi-award-winning Pub of the Year..
Read more: Campaign group prepares to battle for Glamorgan’s future
Read more: Glamorgan pub plan shows it is asset of community value
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