In case anyone is still interested in this, a local pressure Group and Sadiq Khan (local MP) have been trying to get the Council to grant an Article 4 Direction to stop any change of use for the pub (to make any future sale to Tesco (or whatever) impossible)
Aidan Mundyabout 3 hours ago
Hello, as a member of the Save the Wheatsheaf Campaign Executive group I thought I would add my summary to last night’s Council Planning Committee meeting and our partial victory
Last night the planning committee approved a motion requesting the Council grant an Article 4 Direction on both demolition and change of use.
Why is this important? Because the Article 4 Direction, which over 10,000 people have called on the Council to introduce, would require planning permission for the demolition or change of use of the Wheatsheaf.
A representative from the Council’s Planning Department confirmed that on the proposed timescales it could take up to two years before the Planning Committee passed the Direction. It should also be pointed out that:
Officers recommended not passing an Article 4 on cost grounds. Councillors did not introduce or support a motion that would have there and then put in place an Article 4 Direction as we have all called for.
The legal minimum time length a council must consult on an Article 4 Direction I believe is 6 weeks. The Council has proposed a 6-month consultation. Bit overkill in my opinion.
Finally, you should be aware of new reports that Enterprise Inns, the owner of the freehold, have had architects and planners recently access the Wheatsheaf. I suspect, if these reports are accurate, that this could be the first step in putting the freehold on the market. I hope anyone from Enterprise Inns who may read this can put these fears to rest and clarify the situation.
This was the first council planning meeting I had attended. Admittedly like many people I'm not a planning buff, I don't regularly attend Planning Committee meetings. However, the behaviour and absolute lack of drive and determination of the Committee members to take decisive action on the night was utterly disappointing. I was particularly concerned about one Councillor who continually made party political points, rather than engaging on the merits or otherwise of our case, when questioning the local MP.
Sadiq Khan MP...called on the Council Committee to introduce an Article 4 Direction that very night, which it is in their power to do.
The Planning Committee can claim they acted by recommending an Article 4 Direction to be considered. However, for me it feels like a golden opportunity was missed. Despite the support of tens of thousands of people, our MP and the campaign team, the Councillors on the Committee failed to take the bold and decisive action that you and I expect and pay them for. The campaign continues...
Sadiq Khan MP
about 7 hours ago
Good afternoon
As many of you will know, last night Wandsworth Council met to decide the fate of The Wheatsheaf pub in Tooting Bec. Since July we have been calling on Wandsworth Council to use planning law to save the much-loved pub. This was a chance for the Council to be bold and take decisive action to protect the long term future of the pub. Prior to the meeting, the Council released a report revealing that they were not going to recommend granting the crucial ‘Article 4 Direction’ we had asked for against change of use at the site. In my speech to the councillors at the meeting I argued that this was unacceptable and that the Council needed to grant the much-needed Direction
there and then.
I am relieved to say that the Council have partially listened, and recommended that an Article 4 Direction be granted eventually - but they did not back my call for the immediate action that would save The Wheatsheaf right away. Instead they revealed they may take up to two years to make a decision! Make no mistake about it, councillors had the opportunity to save the pub last night, but they chose not to - and therefore the long-term future of the pub remains under threat.
There will be some who try and claim that this decision is a complete success, but that’s not the case.
By the time the Council finally make a decision The Wheatsheaf could be turned into Tesco, a Sainsbury’s or luxury flats – a very real possibility, and one that really worries those who have done such a good job turning the Wheatsheaf around over the last three years. The response of Anthony Thomas, the founder of the pub’s management company Antic, is that the failure of Wandsworth Council to grant an immediate Article 4 direction has played into the hands of potential developers.
Like Anthony, and like many of you, today I am feeling let down by Wandsworth Council. After what has been a fantastic community-led campaign, our pub is still at risk - as the SWLTV film clip above explains in more detail.
So what happens now? There will be a local consultation, and although the Council have until November 2015 to confirm that the Direction be granted,
in reality this confirmation can be made much earlier – anytime from January 2014. I’ll be working with local residents and The Wheatsheaf to continue to push for the Council to take action sooner rather than later.
But in the meantime, I would like to take this opportunity to
thank everyone involved in the campaign – whether you signed a petition or my letter, came to a meeting or just supported the pub, it has been brilliant campaigning with you.
I am here to help, whatever your politics. Best wishes, Sadiq
They had food on both occasions.
