The Grosvenor would suffer noise restrictions if flats were built above, Pic: Wikimedia Commons

Plans to convert a former pub into luxury flats have attracted an avalanche of opposition from Brixton and Stockwell residents.

The planning application for The Grosvenor was identical to one previously submitted by new owners, Golfrate. It was submitted on January 29, but locals were alerted by the Brixton Buzz (www.brixtonbuzz.com) on March 17 – two days before the deadline for comments – prompting a surge in the number of responses, up from just three to over 60.

The property developers had sought to convert the upper floors of the building, but the application was rejected after locals complained that the pub would be unable to operate due to noise restrictions.

However, now that the pub is closed locals fear that if the flats are built, the pub will never be opened again, and a valuable community resource will be lost permanently. Many of the pub’s fittings have also been removed, adding more uncertainty to its future.

The pub, which closed in August last year, offered live music and was popular with locals. One objection to the planning application said: “The Grosvenor pub has been an important part of the local community and its loss is still felt. With the London Mayor announcing that live venues should be saved, The Grosvenor should be reopened and reinstated as a music venue and a local pub.”

The closure of the Grosvenor comes at a time when gentrification is being widely discussed in Brixton. Amidst ever-rising house prices, popular independent venue Electric Social is closing at the end of the month. Lambeth council have also already agreed to the demolition of another local pub, The Canterbury Arms on Canterbury crescent, which May Developments (Brixton) have permission to replace with a nine-story block of flats.

These factors have contributed to the strong feeling that locals are being priced out of the area, something which is evident across social media and local people’s blogs. In another objection to the plans submitted for The Grosvenor, The Brixton Society said: “Lambeth is littered with facades of former public houses and it needs to stop. There is a future for local pubs. Don’t let this short term profit taking continue.”