Charlton residents have given a petition of over 1,200 signatures to Greenwich Council in efforts to stop a local 19th century pub from being converted into flats.
The White Swan, now owned by Mendoza Ltd, has been closed since March 2020 and locals are “appalled” that it has fallen into “dereliction and disrepair” despite being classed on the local heritage list.
Cllr Jo van den Broek, who presented the petition to the council on the 6th December, said “we’re asking planning enforcement to take action to ensure that the owners of the White Swan restore the property’s first-floor function rooms, which were destroyed by their workmen without planning permission”.
Tonight Cllr @jovdbjo presented the White Swan Music & Arts petition calling on the restoration of the White Swan and a new economic & conservation plan for Charlton Village to @Royal_Greenwich – we were all heartened by the spontaneous applause. #Charlton pic.twitter.com/jfbEwK2boy
— Annie Drewry (@anniepixeykeys) December 6, 2023
Other petition demands include ensuring “the restoration of the Charlton Village Conservation Area and economic regeneration area is included in the revised and updated Charlton Riverside Masterplan”.
It also asks that “the Council works with Charlton residents and community groups to develop an economically prosperous Charlton Village, to attract external funding and bring a community-led White Swan back to life as the heart of the village, as part of the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s wider strategic aims and priorities”.
Paul Chapman, who organised the petition, said that he hopes “the petition shows the local council and councillors the strength of feeling that there is locally to keep the Swan as a community-led pub”.
He admits one of the greatest issues they’ve been facing is interacting with the current owner of the pub – “even getting a good grasp of who the owners are has been a struggle!
“The owners are themselves a subsiduary of other owners, who sometimes change names or are aquired by other owners. It’s all very confusing. We have managed to have limited contact with a representative of the current owners but it’s very early days”.
Chapman believes that The White Swan “was more than just a pub, it was a community space. It’s worth fighting for”.
After putting out a feedback form at the beginning of this campaign, Chapman said the response was incredible: “so many people of different ages, different backgrounds all loved the Swan for so many different reasons. Be it the live music that gave local musicians and fans a much needed space, the local community groups who used it as a meeting space, women who got in touch to tell us that the Swan was a rare safe space for them, parents of young children who met up with each other and felt appreciated (rather than a nuisance), the local film festival who used it as a venue… I could go on”.
The authority had received plans to build seven flats including an additional storey, an extension in the current beer garden, and a shop on the ground floor in place of the pub. Planning documents from Jenkins Law showed that a proposal had also been sent by Tesco last year after a viewing.
A local arts group – The White Swan Music and Arts – is applying for charitable status and funds from the Department of Levelling Up. Their aim is to raise money to buy the property, which was sold for £900,000 in 2015. They hope to retain the traditional pub with an additional community space to support the local music scene.
In September, the disused space was allegedly found to be a cannabis farm. Greenwich council commented: “We expect all owners to take responsibility of their buildings to the highest regard including taking the appropriate measure to secure their sites. As the building is privately owned, all questions regarding security of the site should be directed to them.
A previous application to convert the first floor function room into two flats was denied last year by Greenwich Council’s planning officer, after receiving 147 objections. This was on the basis that in order to build an entrance to the flats, you would have to remove the bar.
Gutted. Me and the pub. Please sign the petition if you haven't already. We're calling on RGB to force the current owners to restore the premises, and to help protect the pub from being turned into flats. https://t.co/AwuXzlamgZ https://t.co/yZAaYoHlrx
— Paul Chapman (@PauleecSE7) October 3, 2023
The report stated that these plans “would result in the loss of a significant amount of floorspace associated with the pub which would have an impact on the future viability of the public house to continue as such”.
“Consequently, insufficient evidence has been submitted demonstrating how the existing public house on the site would continue to be economically viable and would not result in the loss of a social community asset to the detriment of the local area.”
Mendoza Ltd had already leased out the two rooms, but a repossession hearing was held for the squatters.
Greenwich Council declined to comment.
