Ron Appleby, resident and Chair of the Campaign, says, ” We continue to have to fight hard to preserve the building that was once the much-loved community pub, The Glamorgan. The freehold owners, Butlers Walsall Ltd., have now appealed against Croydon Council’s rejection of their last wholly unsuitable development application, but without addressing the issue of there being no replacement in it for a decent-sized pub. The proposed bar (you

could not call it a pub) in their plans is a cynical “designed to fail” affair, without any of the attractions that made The Glamorgan such a decent local, regularly frequented by many nearby residents as well as office workers from around the station. Obviously, they intend to close this new “bar” as soon as they can, claiming it is unviable in today’s market, and convert the ground floor to yet more flats to add to the 8 stories of flats (24 of them) above it. We all now have to add our objections to upholding the appeal THIS WEEK, so that the Planning Inspectorate takes the needs of the local community into full account when considering the appeal. Otherwise, the Glamorgan will be demolished and lost for good.”

The owner of the Glamorgan Public House has submitted a new planning appeal to overturn the council’s April 2025 refusal of their 23/04106/FUL: “Demolition of existing public house building, construction of a new 7 storey building with roof terrace level and basement to re-provide a public house (Sui Generis) together with 19 flats with associated access, amenity space, and landscaping works”.

The planning application, ref 23/04106/FUL, was refused by Croydon Council planners on 2nd April 2025 on several grounds. Objectors should bear these in mind when writing to the planning inspector.

• We support the decision of Croydon Council’s planners to refuse to grant planning permission.

• “The proposed development would be excessively tall, bulky, and out of scale, making it dominant and incongruous with the surrounding area. Its design, materials, and façade would fail to integrate successfully with the local townscape, while the layout, including undercroft features and fragmented windows, would lack cohesion and sufficient design quality. This would harm the area’s character and appearance, conflicting with Policies D3, D4, and D6 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018)

• The proposed development would not provide an adequate standard of residential accommodation due to insufficient private amenity space, poor accessibility, and the absence of a noise assessment to evaluate road and railway impacts, as well as an assessment of the noise associated with the proposed public house use. This would conflict with Policies D6 and D7 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018).

• The proposed development, by virtue of its excessive height, scale, and proximity to neighbouring properties, would result in a building with an overbearing impact, causing a loss of outlook, daylight, and sunlight for adjacent residents. In the absence of a development-specific daylight and sunlight assessment, the extent of harm has not been fully assessed, contrary to Policy D6 of the London Plan (2021) and Policy DM10.6 of the Croydon Local Plan (2018).

1) The local community has fought for over eight years to keep the current building as a Public House. The building, which is over 160 years old, was a key community hub for both local residents and visitors.

2) The community successfully listed the building as an asset of community value, as it was able to demonstrate to the council that it was more than just a drinking establishment, but played a key role in the local community.

3) The building is in poor condition because of the failure of the applicants to take practical actions against squatters, who have vandalised the building over the last 7 years, and only evicted them in 2024.

4) Lack of Community Consultation: The applicant has stopped communicating with residents and campaigners.

5) Inadequate reprovision of the Glamorgan Public House, which threatens the viability of the premises. The floor area is too

small compared to the existing building; the kitchen and ancillary facilities are inadequate; and the public space, both internally and externally, is significantly reduced.

6) Lack of submitted drawings and information concerning the space provided for the replacement public house.

You can find the service through the Appeals area of the Planning Portal – see https://acp.planninginspectorate.gov.uk, the reference you need to add to the portal website is 3373162.

You can also write directly to Pauline Dun – Case Officer, quoting the appeal reference number APP/L5240/W/25/3373162. Please make sure that the Planning Inspectorate receives any comments that you want to make on the appeals by 10th November 2025, otherwise, they will not usually be seen by the Inspector and will be returned.

In 2017, in response to previous attempts by the owner to demolish the pub, the local community, with the support of local councillors, established the Save the Glamorgan Pub campaign, which remains active to this day. The campaign successfully got the Council to list the building as an Asset Of Community Value. Sadly, it lapsed after five years as the developer didn’t meaningfully engage with the local community and set an unrealistically high price of over £2 million for the public house. A building that has suffered significant damage due to the squatters, who have occupied the building for over five years, seemingly with the owners’ permission.

The Glamorgan Public House was a thriving community Public House before it was bought and closed down by the current applicants. Since its closure, the area around the Public has seen the construction of many new housing developments, with over 1,000 homes built in the last five years in Addiscombe West Ward alone, and thousands more across East Croydon. The population of East Croydon is growing, and the area desperately needs to maintain its key community anchor points, such as the Glamorgan. Saving the Glamorgan from demolition will help knit together this growing new community.

Ron Appleby: Chair of the Save the Glamorgan Campaign

Sean Fitzsimons, Councillor and Campaign Lead: [email protected] Telephone 0778 711 7542