Hackney,
06
March
2015
|
16:53
Europe/London

Chesham Arms Pub protected for future generations

Chesham Arms

Hackney Council has issued the 150-year-old Chesham Arms pub an Article 4 Direction, believed to one of only 31 pubs in England to be granted this protection.

A first for Hackney, the Article 4 Direction means that the Chesham Arms Pub, which was made an Asset of Community Value by the Council in 2013, cannot be changed to a different use without planning permission.

Currently the ground floor of the Chesham Arms is being used as temporary office space which has been granted until March 2016. With the Article 4 Direction, the ground floor could be turned back into pub after March as it will no longer be possible to change the ground floor to a different use without planning permission.

This is the latest update to the Chesham Arms story. After the pub closed in October 2012 it was named as Hackney’s first Asset of Community Value in March 2013. There was a court victory in October 2014 after the Planning Inspectorate upheld a Hackney Council Enforcement notice which required the developer to cease the use of the upper floor of this historic landmark as a self-contained flat.

Cllr Guy Nicholson, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Hackney Council
This is great news for the local community and the Save Chesham campaign group. With the Article 4 Direction, we are helping to ensure that this valued local landmark remains an asset for future generations of local people.
Cllr Guy Nicholson, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Hackney Council
We are grateful for the continued support of Hackney Council in safeguarding the long-term future of The Chesham Arms. Of all the pubs in Hackney, this is by far the most protected in planning policy terms. It is therefore all the more frustrating that the pub remains closed at the moment.

Now that the owner has no choice but to keep The Chesham Arms as a pub, we hope that he will put it on the market at a fair price without any further delay. We've been fighting this campaign for nearly 900 days and our resolve to see the pub relaunched remains as strong as it ever was.
Jonathan Sockett, Campaign Chairman