Six months to buy the Glamorgan Pub

It’s been a busy few months. In March 2021 we reported that the developers had withdrawn their original planning application to demolish the existing Public House and replace it with a 10-storey residential Tower with a small space on the ground floor that would act as the “Public House Replacement”. This followed poor feedback from the Mayor of London’s planning team that questioned the height of the building, the number of affordable homes proposed and the quality of the public house replacement. Croydon Council officers expressed similar concerns and the application never got to the planning committee for decision before it was withdrawn.

Developers intention to sell

At the end of April 2021, a land auction site contacted local councillors to say they had been commissioned to auction the site. Further correspondence between Save the Glamorgan and the Auctioneers showed that the owners of the Glamorgan wanted to list the building on the auction with a guide price of £2m, significantly above the £1.2m price they paid Punch Tavern for the Public House. The owner has put up to auction their other Croydon Public House, the Rail View in Selsdon, which it purchased from Punch Taverns, with a £1m guide price. Like the Glamorgan Public House, they have allowed the building to deteriorate, although this time, instead of allowing squatters to do this, they employed a demolition firm to take the roof of the building, without getting the correct planning permission from the council.

The Save the Glamorgan campaign notified Croydon Council about this proposed sale, which seems to be in breach of the conditions set out under the Asset of Community Value legislation. Officers from Croydon Council confirmed they hadn’t been notified by the owner of their intention to sell. Croydon officers confirmed that when the building was registered as an Asset of Community Value they registered this fact on the Land Registry. This means any prospective buyer would be aware of this designation. Croydon Council officers contacted the owners and told them that legally they need to inform the council, which Walsall Butler finally did in June 2021.

6-week moratorium

Under the 2011 Localism Act, on the 11th June 2021, the Council imposed a 6-week moratorium to allow the community to express an interest in bidding for the Asset of Community Value. Only a certain type of organisation can bid for an ACV:

A charity

community interest company

industrial and provident society,

or a company limited by guarantee.

Quite a few ACV’s fail at this hurdle as the timeframes are very tight and there is no compulsion for the owner to sell at a fair price.

Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd

The good news is that a group of individuals, who have been strong supporters of the Save the Glamorgan Campaign, managed to set up before the 23rd July 2021 deadline a Community Interest Company, called Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd, with the expressed intention to try and buy the Public House and to run it as a community-orientated public house. Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd informed the council and as a result, the council has put a further 6-month moratorium to give Glamorgan Phoenix Ltd the chance to raise the finance to purchase the building from the developer, assuming that Butler Walsall Ltd wants to sell at a fair market price for a Public House. The end date of the six-month protected period is 11th December 2021.

If you are interested in helping the Addiscombe and East Croydon Community community buy this public house and return it to its former glory please get in touch via our Facebook page.