A landlord’s efforts to convert a historic Walworth pub into flats have been scuppered once again.
The owner of the 17th-century Beehive pub, which has protected status as a community asset, has now been knocked back by Southwark Council twice.
As was the case in January 2022, a council officer judged there was “insufficient” evidence that the landlord had properly marketed the venue to potential publican buyers.
Battle to save historic Walworth boozer starts all over again
The decision also noted the new flats would be “poor quality accommodation” and that the development would mean the loss of a pub “dating from the Georgian era”.
The officer also noted that a “vast number of objections have been raised which highlight the importance of the public house”.
Matthew Meynell, of The Walworth Community Pub Society, said: “It is the right decision to save The Beehive as an historic pub. We hope the owners consider marketing the property either for lease or sale at a realistic market rate.”
The news will be a relief to the Walworth Society which had been gearing up for another campaign against the plans.
Speaking to this paper when news emerged of the landlord’s latest planning application, a Walworth Society spokesperson said they were “extremely disappointed” by the latest application.
This is the second time this kind of application has been rejected, the first being in January 2022.
On that occasion, a huge campaign saw roughly 170 objections pour in from residents and campaigners.
Community members still hope to purchase the boozer and turn it into a community pub which would allow locals to buy shares in the venue – potentially for as little as £100.
However, Matthew Meynell has previously said there was a “disagreement over the landlord’s valuation of the site”.
The Beehive is one of Walworth’s most notable pubs and has existed in the area, in some form, since at least 1799.
Its colourful history has seen wild animal auctions, bizarre egg-related sporting events, and a parachuting monkey in 1837.
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