Defend The Castle! Say NO to the demolition! Now in easy cut and paste format!

Sat, Feb 11, 2012

Hi everyone! You can use this to easily draft your objections to the planned demolition of the greatest pub in Battersea, The Castle! You can find this information and more on the Save The Castle website as well as on flyers and cards in The Castle.

Dear Campaigners, local residents and others: Demolition Application www.wandsworth.gov.uk/planning Application 2012/0341.

To make an objection stick you need to quote planning policies. It isn’t enough to to protest about the loss of a loved and popular pub on its own. If you have already objected on that basis, don’t worry you haven’t wasted an opportunity, simply draft a new email or letter and send it in. Here are the policies you can use:

1. The London Plan 2011 policies 3.1 (Ensuring equal life chances for all), 3.16 (Protection of social infrastructure), 4.5 (supporting a diverse and successful retail sector) and 7.1 (Building London’s neighbourhoods and communities) for not allowing the demolition and replacement of The Castle and / or the Bellevue / Greyhound at 135 Battersea High Street, currently being marketed for ‘other users’. These grounds were successfully applied in November in refusing consent for the demolition of the much loved Wenlock Arms in Hackney.
2. The council already has policies to safeguard community / leisure facilities from redevelopment and change of use.
3. The Draft National Planning Policy Framework paragraphs 125 and 126 relate to the retention of social facilities, and local planning authorities’ responsibility to ‘safeguard against the loss of valued facilities’ (126) specifically pubs.. Paragraph 125 also says ‘planning authorities should create a shared vision with communities of the residential environment and facilities they wish to see’.
4. South West London CAMRA (CaMpaign For Real Ale) has made efforts to impress on Wandsworth the importance of protecting pubs both for their amenity value and as historic assets. In November CAMRA wrote to them to say the demolition proposal for The Castle would attract many objections, and asking that the developers and their agents consult appropriately before applying. They haven’t, contrary to Paragraph 122 of the National Planning Policy Framework.
5. Sambrook’s Brewery has expressed an interest turning The Castle into the ‘brewery tap’. This is a thriving and successful pub and if offered again on the open market at a value reflecting its public house use, would soon be snapped up.
6. The Developer’s website is misleading. It reads: ‘The Council are looking for comprehensive redevelopment of the site’ which is by any measure a mis-statement. The site is not indicated as being suitable or targeted for redevelopment in the 2010 Specific Site Allocations Document for Battersea. See Jane Ellison’s email for information.

Politicians want to hear from local communities. So, write to your local councillors, Mark Davies, John Hallmark and Tessa Strickland, all of whom are against the demolition proposal. And contact Jane Ellison your MP.

Please read the important email from Jane Ellison to the campaign on the Facebook page.

Get more actively involed, come to the Campaign meetings on Teusday evenings at 1930 at The Castle and / or check the Facebook Page.