Local pubs will be protected, for the first time, in the Mayor’s final planning policy for London. The document, set to be approved by the London Assembly on 6 February, encourages boroughs to develop policies to ‘protect’ as well as ‘retain, manage and enhance’ public houses.
This follows the publication of ‘Keeping Local’, a recent report showing that London lost over 400 pubs between 2003-2012, and urging improved protection for pubs when it comes to changing their use or demolishing them
Market testing and viability tests
Report author and GLA Conservatives planning spokesman, Steve O’Connell, said:
“The local pub is a great British institution and we should do everything we can to help them thrive in our communities. The Mayor’s commitment to help boroughs protect valued pubs from being lost, where it is possible to do so, is an important one.
“Now London boroughs must take forward these protections into their own local plans, and introduce rigorous market testing and viability tests before any development on pub sites can be considered. Developers should be demonstrating that they’ve marketed the site for a reasonable amount of time before planning permission can be considered, the pub has been vacant for at least two years, and that any new development does not detrimentally affect the character of the street.”
The Mayor’s ‘London Plan’ is set to be approved by the London Assembly on Friday morning (6th February) at City Hall.
Steve O’Connell’s report, Keeping Local, has been specifically referenced in the Mayor’s ‘London Plan’ and can be accessed here