A developer in Battersea yesterday lost his battle to secure retrospective planning permission on a historic pub he bulldozed in May. He must now rebuild The Alchemist in St Johns' Hill 'brick by brick' according to the council's original ruling earlier this month.
The confirmation of the decision follows a similar ruling in Maida Vale earlier this year after the Carlton Tavern was demolished without consent.
The unlawful destruction of The Alchemist, a three-storey Victorian pub in a conservation area near Clapham Junction, was described by planning chiefs as a “very serious breach.”
The developer Udhyam Amim had submitted his retrospective planning application with the justification that the building was structurally unsafe, and that salvaged materials would be used on a new building featuring a restored facade.
This was "roundly rejected" as an attempt to get permission "by the back door" according to planning chair Cllr Sarah McDermott. The full statement is available on Wandsworth council's website here.
