A long-closed pub in Charlton could be snuffed out for good after developers applied to turn it into commercial premises.

The Pickwick, on Woolwich Road, has been shut since 2017 and has since had housing built on the site of its beer garden.

Past plans to demolish the building were refused in 2018 after neighbours  campaigned against its loss, while plans to build a hotel around a refurbished pub were approved by Greenwich Council three years ago. 

Now the developer, Pure Let Greenwich Ltd, has applied to change the use of the pub to commercial premises. 

Pure Let claims the Victorian pub, known as the Roupell Arms until the 1970s, has been “marketed extensively” since 2019 and is no longer viable.

“The extended vacancy, combined with marketing evidence and financial analysis, is considered to indicate that the lawful public house use is no longer viable in practice, and that there is no realistic prospect of the premises being used as a public house in the foreseeable future,” the East Ham-based company says in a planning statement filed with the council.

It adds that “the  lawful fallback public house use could involve late-night opening, alcohol-led activity and associated noise and disturbance”, while those impacts could be reduced with a change of use.

Residents can comment on the proposal on the Greenwich Council planning website.

Elsewhere in Charlton, campaigners who are trying to buy The White Swan, which has been closed since 2019, are celebrating raising £92,000 towards a deposit on a mortgage for the pub – a quarter of the way towards their target.

The White Swan Music and Arts charity wants bring the building into community ownership, with a multipurpose community arts space above the pub.

In an update to supporters, campaigners said they now had 140 active supporters, were in contact with the pub’s owners and were looking to attract investors and larger donors.

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