Community rallies to buy pub and secure its future

An historic south London pub which was threatened with redevelopment is at the centre of a community effort to secure its future.

The Trafalgar Freehouse in south Wimbledon, known as The Traph, has stood on High Path since 1868.

Plans to demolish the pub and redevelop it into a flat block were refused by Merton Council, but campaigners say its future remains uncertain – leading regulars to form a group to try and buy it themselves.

The pub's landlord, Oli Carter-Esdale, told Politics London: "One of the most amazing things is that you'll have people from all walks of life, all ages - you'll have 19-year-olds sat next to 90-year-olds - and that's kind of the magic of a place like this."

Plans to redevelop the pub were refused by Merton Council in May last year.

The proposal would have seen the site replaced with a four-storey building containing six flats above a bar space for the pub.

Merton Council felt the scheme would cause substantial harm to the area's heritage and social value, a view later reinforced by a planning inspector, who highlighted its importance to local identity and cohesion.

While that decision has protected the building for now, campaigners remain concerned.

In response, residents have formed a Community Benefit Society (CBS) in the hopes of buying the freehold and running the pub collectively.

The society, registered with the Financial Conduct Authority as Cabo Trafalgar Limited, is aiming to raise £500,000 through share sales.

Arthur Roberts, a member of the Save The Traf campaign, said: "No matter how much money you put in, whether you buy one share or you buy 100 shares or buy 1,000 shares, you will get one vote, same as anyone else.

"So you get to dictate how the pub will be run or how the money will be spent to improve the pub and obviously you do get the warm and fuzzy feelings of preserving this pub for perpetuity."

Peter Fellows, who is making a documentary about the campaign, said community ownership offered strong prospects but came with challenges:

He said: "Community-owned pubs have about a 99% survival rate over the 15 years that that data has been tracked.

"The main issue is trying to buy them in the first place. There has to be enough of a community and they have to have deep enough pockets to stump up all that cash.

"If you're looking at London prices, you're potentially looking at half a million quid or even a million quid in some places."

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