Shelves are stocked even as Camden Council step in to stop Kentish Town pub’s supermarket conversion
Neighbours protesting the redevelopment of the Leighton Arms in Kentish Town. Picture: Josephine Siedlecka - Credit: Archant
Despite being served with a planning enforcement notice, workers have been stocking the shelves at the former Leighton Arms pub as its controversial conversion into a Nisa supermarket continues.
Stock outside of the Leighton Arms pub. Picture: Sandhya Choudhury - Credit: Archant
The Leighton Arms pub’s conversion into a Nisa supermarket is continuing, and the shelves are even being stocked with food and groceries, despite Camden Council issuing an enforcement notice which demanded that the Nisa signs and shop fittings were removed.
Outside of the pub, staff were pictured carrying stock including tinned food into the building.
The Town Hall has issued Bryanston Investments with the notice, which will come into force on July 27. From that date, unless there is a successful appeal, they will have three months to comply and return the building to its former state.
Josephine Siedlecka lives in Kentish Town and has been involved in the campaign to protect the Leighton Arms. She told the Ham&High: “We’re obviously very happy about this. It’s really pleasing and it shows what people getting out and making some noise can do.”
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Councillor Danny Beales, cabinet member for investing in communities said: “Camden’s new planning policies strongly support and seek to protect our local pubs.”
In 2015, planning permission was granted for new houses to be built on the pub’s beer garden and the upper floors of the building, as long as the pub was retained.
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Cllr Beales continued: “The owners of the property now have the opportunity to appeal the enforcement notice, but we hope they will instead seek to work constructively with the council and listen to community concerns.”
The council confirmed that investigations continue into whether extensions to the the new homes on the site were completed within planning regulations.
Sofiul Alam runs Susan’s Mini-Mart with his wife. He told the Ham&High: “This is positive news, but it’s only the beginning, and nothing has been removed yet.”
Prominent local faces came out in support of the campaign to protect the Leighton Arms, including actor Charles Dance who provided a message which was read at one of the protests held earlier this month..
Councillors including the new Mayor of Camden Jenny Headlam-Wells also joined the protests, and over 300 people signed an online petition in support.
Bryanston Investments’ director Martin Cramer declined to comment, while this newspaper has been unable to reach the owner of the building’s leasehold.
At this time he was unable to confirm whether or not Bryanston Investments would be appealing the notice.
