London SE1 community website

Neil Coyle and CAMRA highlight continued threat to Gladstone Arms

London SE1 website team

Bermondsey & Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle joined local members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) on Saturday for a tour of pubs in the constituency.

Neil Coyle and CAMRA highlight continued threat to Gladstone Arms
Neil Coyle MP with members of CAMRA and friends of the Gladstone pub including Cllr Adele Morris

The parliamentarian's pub crawl began at the China Hall and the Mayflower in Rotherhithe.

The group then crossed the boundary into SE1 to visit The Draft House near Tower Bridge and The Rake at Borough Market.

The final stop on the tour was The Gladstone Arms in Lant Street.

A year ago we reported on plans to knock down the much-loved pub and replace it with a 10-storey block of flats.

After swift action by local people, the pub was registered as an asset of community value (ACV) under the Localism Act.

However, the Government declined to grant listed status to the building. But weeks later Southwark Council responded to the threat to the pub by creating the Liberty of the Mint Conservation Area.

The pub's owners withdrew their planning application and the threat to the pub's future seemed to have receded – but with the current operator's lease coming to an end, there are now fears that a new lease won't be granted at an affordable price.

"While the building might still stay here, we're concerned to make sure that it remains as an operating pub," Steve Silcock, chair of the South East London branch of CAMRA, told the SE1 website.

"We want to make sure that the owner of the building does the right thing and agrees a new lease with the current operator, who is running a fantastic pub – with a massive commitment to original live music – and that needs to continue."


Listen to audio
The SE1 website is supported by people like you
We are part of
Independent Community News Network
Email newsletter

For the latest local news and events direct to your inbox every Monday, you need our weekly email newsletter SE1 Direct.

Archive
News archive from February 1999 to January 2001
Got a story for us?
Contact us with your tip-offs and story ideas.