Plans to demolish the 176-year-old Anglesea Arms in Woolwich and replace it with flats have been rejected for a second time by Greenwich Council.

Previous plans to knock down the locally-listed pub were refused in April last year, three months after it had closed, when council planners said that insufficient information had been provided to prove the pub was not commercially viable.

The latest application was submitted by Dharmesh Shah from Perpetual Property in December, proposing seven flats with a “‘hip and vibrant’ commercial social space for the local residents”. 

Shah had claimed that the building contained a hazardous electrical installation that posed an arson risk and was a “dangerous structure” after squatters moved in during the summer.

The squatters were removed from the site last August by police and the site was secured by an emergency contractor and members of Greenwich Council’s building control team.

The developer claimed that squatters damaged the building in the summer after the pub closed. Image: Paradigm Architects from council planning documents

There were 79 objections to the new plans, criticising the proposal to demolish the pub and saying that not enough had been done to try to keep it open. A pressure group, Save Britain’s Heritage, encouraged its supporters to object to the plans on social media.

Council planners refused the proposal for similar reason to last times, feeling the applicant had not provided enough information to show that the pub was no longer financially viable.

The council’s conservation department disputed whether pub needed to be demolished. The planning report stated: “The applicant has provided information which supports the demolition of the locally listed building.

“However, there is little information regarding the structural integrity of the building. Without such fundamental information, it is not unreasonable to conclude it is sound structurally albeit in a neglected condition.”

The proposal was also refused because planners felt some of the residential units proposed were undersized and that the new flats would have a negative impact on some nearby existing residences.

Cameron Blackshaw is the Local Democracy Reporter for Greenwich. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media. 

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