The inaugural meeting of the KPH supporters community group was held on Tuesday 21 October 2014 in the Green Room at the Kensington Park Hotel. The meeting which was attended by representatives of the Campaign for Real Ale ("CAMRA") West London branch and 28 locals including the pub manager, a ward Councillor and members of the Kensington Society and Portobello Cafe Society.
A brief history of the pub and its current predicament was read out to those attending (for summary see previous blog post). Sadly we are not alone. So many pubs in RBK&C have called last orders and news is spreading of others within walking distance sold to developers or with current owners who have indicated that leases will not be renewed.
To quote the CAMRA in their Dec/Jan issue of "London Drinker" magazine (vol 6 no 36), "This aggressive and vehement destruction of an historic community pub typifies the present war we find ourselves in. It is approaching the stage that we could fill half of London Drinker’s pages with very similar stories of threatened pubs. Only the planning system can save pubs. The Royal Borough has an admirable pub protection policy... We must put our faith in this but also support the campaigners in their quest for an ACV registration and an Article 4 Direction."
These two routes were explained by CAMRA in the meeting, with more information provided to the attendees in our follow-up meeting notes.
Asset of Community Value
Sometimes referred to as the Community Right To Bid. Under new powers introduced by the 2011 Localism Act, pubs can now be nominated to be listed by a local Council as an Asset of Community Value. This gives pub supporters the opportunity to “stop the clock” on the sale of a pub to explore options for saving it. CAMRA recommends groups nominate the pub as an Unincorporated Group. For this you a minimum 21 people (of different addresses) to nominate the asset.
Article 4 Direction
Under ARTICLE 4 OF THE TOWN & COUNTRY PLANNING (GENERAL PERMITTED DEVELOPMENT) ORDER 1995, Councils can invoke special powers to withdraw permitted development rights and block change of use rights. The measures apply for 6 months but the council can make it permanent if enough public support can be demonstrated.
“Provided that there is justification for both its purpose and extent, an article 4 direction can...
• remove specified permitted development rights related to operational development or change of use
• remove permitted development rights with temporary or permanent effect.”
We decided to employ both these "blunt tools", being the only ones we have at our disposal under present planning regs.
We're endebted to CAMRA for all the help getting us to this stage.
By the end of the night we had more than the 21 signatures required on our ACV community group form.
The KPH supporters are united.
