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| Queensbury Pub campaigners |
Queensbury Pub campaigners Ian Elliott and Sujata Aurora spoke at yesterday's Planning Committee on the proposed Pub Protection Policy written into the Brent Development Management Local plan.
While welcoming the Council's decision to have such a policy after their long campaign they also called for improvements based on CAMRA's suggestions and the policy adopted by Waltham Forest. The campaigners had circulated the CAMRA letter to members of the Committee and Sarah Marquis, the chair commented that it had raised some important points. The Committee were asked if the accepted CAMRA's points and they murmured assent.
Waltham Forest policy included an audit of what would be lost to the community if a pub was to close. It was important to be aware of developer strategies to undermine the viability of a pub by for example raising prices or letting the building run down.
Campaigners argued that if the Council made the suggested policy changes it would have a excellent policy whereby viable pubs would be protected.
Paul Lewin, Brent Planning and Projects Manager, said that there was 'merit' in CAMRA's comments but that officers would need time to explore them and any legal or planning issues they raised. It was agreed that the Plan could be revised to accommodate changes but it appeared unlikely that this would be in time for the August Cabinet. The comments and changes could be made as part of the 6 week publication process.
The Waltham Forest policy can be found HERE and CAMRA's letter below: