A new planning application to demolish Rotherhithe’s Clipper pub and turn it into flats was submitted last month, after a resident campaign last year saw a previous one rejected and the appeal dismissed.
The new plans were submitted by Lighthall Homes Ltd after they bought the site off McCullochs in May for £1.3m, and would see a four storey building built with six flats and retail space on the ground floor.
McCullochs made the original attempts for a similar development last year but had their plans rejected by the council and their appeal dismissed amid a resident campaign that featured actor Eddie Webber.
Councillor David Hubber, who protested the previous plans, said: “This latest application for The Clipper pub seems to be almost the same as the last one which was turned down by councillors on the Planning Committee.
“Even when the applicant appealed against the refusal, it was upheld by the independent Planning Inspector.
“If it wasn’t good enough then, it won’t be good enough now. They can’t just turn up with basically the same unsuccessful plans as before.”
Southwark has seen a decline in the number of pubs in recent years, prompting a large pub crawl in August by Bermondsey and Old Southwark MP Neil Coyle and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to raise awareness.
Andy Large, of CAMRA, objected to the previous planning application on the grounds that it “was considered that the residential development would harm the amenities of surrounding occupiers, due to the loss of outlook and light it would impose on adjacent residences”. He told the News that he would be objecting to the new application on the same grounds.
A spokesperson from the architecture practice that designed the proposals, Norton Mayfield Architects, said: “The building itself has been vacant since 2013 so we are really pleased to be in a position to have submitted proposals that could finally bring the site back into use.
“From the beginning of the project, our client was fully aware of the concerns that both local residents and Southwark Council had with past proposals to regenerate this building. Addressing these concerns has been the focal point of our new plans.
“We really feel that this has been achieved in the new design and that we are proposing an exciting new development that will be an attractive asset to the local area whilst drawing on its historical location within Rotherhithe.”
Greedy developer outbid me when I tried to buy it originally, wuld have not been empty and wrecked by squaters all this time.
It’s easy for develoeprs to trash everything when they can pay based on demolishing and over developing
I remember Councillor Hubber vehemently supporting the demolition of the Red Crane and privatisation of public open space which included the old Sea Cadets Club House and related play areas and football court – depriving the Redriff Estate of any juvenile free to play area.