Plans to turn the closed Ravensbourne Arms in Lewisham into four flats have been thrown out, with planning officials declaring that there was no authoritative evidence that the pub could not be reopened.
The pub on Lewisham High Street had been the subject of a campaign from a Deptford record shop, Sister Midnight, which was raising money to buy the premises and turn it into a community music venue.
Ravensbourne Arms Ltd had claimed there had been no offers for the venue, but Sister Midnight told its crowdfunding investors that had made an offer, which had been rejected.
Developers must prove that a pub is not viable before turning it into something else, but Lewisham Council said that Ravensbourne Arms Ltd had not submitted sufficient evidence that it had marketed the pub to all possible buyers.
It added: “The evidence states that the marketing resulted in no offers for the building or public house. This is directly contradicted by representations submitted as part of the consultation, which reference a public campaign from Sister Midnight, a local music organisation, to fund the purchase of the freehold.
“The representations state that the fund-raising campaign resulted in the submission of an offer that was rejected as it was below the £3 million valuation of the building. It is also claimed there was a competing offer for the leasehold.
“While the existence of these offers is not necessarily evidence that there was a realistic prospect of the pub becoming operational, the absence of this information casts serious doubt on the reliability of the evidence submitted.”
Lewisham Council received 35 objections to the plan, including one from the South East London Campaign for Real Ale, and two expressions of support. The decision was made by planning officers rather than a committee of councillors.
The pub opened in 1934 and is on Lewisham’s local heritage list. It and was known as the George and Dragon until 2011, when it was taken over by the pub and property company Antic and renamed.
In 2015 the council approved plans to convert the upstairs floor into seven flats. Antic sold the building and closed the pub the following year.
Lewisham Council told the developer that the cost of soundproofing the pub should not be counted as proof that it was unviable, as that was part of the previous permission to turn the upper floors into flats. It also said that no evidence of previous trading figures had been submitted.
The pub was “unequivocally of social, community, heritage and economic value”, the officers’ report said.
The developer can appeal to a planning inspector, or submit a new application.
Sister Midnight is now planning to open in the old Brookdale Club in Catford, which is owned by Lewisham Council, and is continuing to raise cash so it can refurbish the dilapidated building to turn it into a music venue and arts hub.
The officers’ report is on the Lewisham Council planning website (click on “delegated report”).
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