Campaign to save historic Watford pub 'in imminent danger of being developed'

The new owners of the Red Lion pub in Vicarage Road are considering offers to turn the pub into flats, a supermarket, a bookmakers, a restaurant or to keep the premises as a pub.

Now the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and residents have banded together to nominate the pub an Asset of Community Value (ACV) – in an attempt to buy it themselves.

But representatives for the owners of the pub said its illogical to consider the premises a community asset because it hasn't been used for two years.

Watford Borough Council has eight weeks to make a decision on the application, which if approved would give the group up to six months to raise the funds and buy the pub.

Andrew Vaughan, from the Watford branch of CAMRA, said: “The other critical aspect is that the nomination of the pub alone is enough to prevent what is known as permitted development, in which a developer can change a building's use from a pub to a shop, restaurant, etc.

“The developer must now wait until the council has either decided to list or not list the pub or, if the pub does get listed, until the local community has decided whether to mount a bid to buy the pub.”

In a poll by the Watford Observer, 87 per cent of voters wanted the Red Lion to remain a pub.

Residents are also petitioning Watford MP Richard Harrington and Elected Mayor of Watford Dorothy Thornhill to save the pub.

The petition said a “piece of Watford history” would be lost if the pub was redeveloped.

It said: “Many locals and Watford FC supporters have fond memories of times spent there, unfortunately in recent times the pub has been caught up in the mess that was Bassini ownership and has been boarded up for some time now.

“The Red Lion is now in imminent danger of being developed and we will lose a piece of Watford history for ever. A nomination has been sent to the council to accept the pub as an Asset of Community Value. This will give us time to organise raising the money needed to buy the pub with a community share offer and run the pub as a community pub with a local brewery brewing on site."

Robert Shutler, of Metropolitan Development Consultancy representing owners Julian Tendler and Anna Reza, said they were aware of the nomination.

He said: “The pub closed two years ago because no one used it. It hasn’t been used in the last two years so to list it as a community asset is a bit illogical.”

Mayor Thornhill said: "I'd love to see the Red Lion as a working pub again. It's a real part of the club's history - though the pub's even older than that.

"Now that CAMRA's submitted the application to make it a community asset the Council has to go through the proper procedure. No matter what the outcome is, I hope that CAMRA can work with the landowner and local breweries to open the Red Lion's doors once more."

Vicarage Road cllrs Mo Mills and Jagtar Singh Dhindsa, both Labour, have canvassed residents in the area to see if they want the premises to be kept a pub or turned into flats.

Cllr Dhindsa said: "Most residents said they would prefer the site to be a well run pub. I know CAMRA are involved, we do not have many pubs that do real ales in Vicarage ward.

"We already have 750 new homes coming with the Health Campus scheme, we haven't got the infrastructure. Last year there was a notice on my doctors that they are not taking new patients. And parking and traffic are already major issues in Vicarage Ward."

Cllr Mills added: “It’s one of the last old buildings in Watford that hasn’t gone yet and would be such a shame to use it. The majority want it to stay as a pub – maybe a community pub with good management. Would hate to see it go – residents want it to stay as do we.”