The mayor is trying to prevent pubs across the city from closing at the fast rate they are currently.
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Since 2001 London has lost over a quarter of its pubs.
The London Plan came out yesterday. It contains plans for the capital over the next few years.
One key pledge is to push local authorities to protect pubs.
Campaigners argue that they should be recognised for their heritage and the valuable role they play in communities.
Public houses have played a large part in the capital’s historical landscape. Even some tube stations are named after them: Angel, Manor House, Royal Oak, Elephant and Castle and Swiss Cottage.
James Watson, cofounder of the organisation Protect Pubs, has recently helped to save the Chesham Arms in Hackney and played a large role in bringing the problem to the London Assembly’s attention.
He said ‘Pubs in Britain are very much an integral part of our heritage and culture and there are few places in society these days where members of the community can get together in a shared social space.
‘People lead different lives with different distractions, so pubs are important to give people face to face social interaction.’
He fought a developer who bought his local pub to try to convert the building into flats because flats around Hackney are worth a lot more in residential use than as a pub.
The Compton Arms in Islington is up for sale. Its regulars and landlord are concerned that it will be turned into flats and are clubbing together to try to protect their local pub.
There has been an ale house on the site since the 1500s. George Orwell was also a regular in the pub. So it would be sorely missed by locals.
Local resident and regular in the Compton Arms, Dennis Gardner is pleased with the London Plan’s inclusion of pub protection as he hopes it will help their cause to keep the pub open.
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Since 2001 London has lost over a quarter of its pubs.
The London Plan came out yesterday. It contains plans for the capital over the next few years.
One key pledge is to push local authorities to protect pubs.
Campaigners argue that they should be recognised for their heritage and the valuable role they play in communities.
Public houses have played a large part in the capital’s historical landscape. Even some tube stations are named after them: Angel, Manor House, Royal Oak, Elephant and Castle and Swiss Cottage.
James Watson, cofounder of the organisation Protect Pubs, has recently helped to save the Chesham Arms in Hackney and played a large role in bringing the problem to the London Assembly’s attention.
He said ‘Pubs in Britain are very much an integral part of our heritage and culture and there are few places in society these days where members of the community can get together in a shared social space.
‘People lead different lives with different distractions, so pubs are important to give people face to face social interaction.’
He fought a developer who bought his local pub to try to convert the building into flats because flats around Hackney are worth a lot more in residential use than as a pub.
The Compton Arms in Islington is up for sale. Its regulars and landlord are concerned that it will be turned into flats and are clubbing together to try to protect their local pub.
There has been an ale house on the site since the 1500s. George Orwell was also a regular in the pub. So it would be sorely missed by locals.
Local resident and regular in the Compton Arms, Dennis Gardner is pleased with the London Plan’s inclusion of pub protection as he hopes it will help their cause to keep the pub open.
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