Plans to demolish a 176-year-old pub in Woolwich and replace it with flats have been rejected for a second time.
Greenwich Council has refused plans to knock down The Anglesea Arms at 91 Woolwich New Road and build seven flats and a commercial unit in its place.
Previous plans to knock down the locally listed pub were refused last April. The council thought “insufficient information” was provided by the applicant to prove the pub was no longer commercially viable.
A new and similar application to demolish the Anglesea was submitted by Dharmesh Shah in December 2025, in which he posited that damage from squatters meant the pub could not be restored.
Planning documents claimed that last year the Anglesea had been “overcome with squatters” and it contained a hazardous electrical installation that posed an arson risk.
The squatters were removed from the site last August by police and the site was secured by an emergency contractor and members of Greenwich Council’s building control team.
The new plans received 79 objections, with many Woolwich residents unhappy to see the pub demolished. Objectors also felt its owner had not done enough to try and keep the pub open. The Anglesea Arms had served beer to customers since 1850, but it called time when it closed in January last year.
Despite this new planning application providing more information about the proposed pub demolition, Greenwich Council refused the plans again last week. Council planners refused the proposal for similar reasons, feeling the applicant had not provided enough information to show that the pub was no longer financially viable.
The council’s conservation department disputed whether The Anglesea needed to be demolished. The planning report stated: “The applicant has provided information which supports the demolition of the locally listed building.
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“However, there is little information regarding the structural integrity of the building. Without such fundamental information, it is not unreasonable to conclude it is sound structurally albeit in a neglected condition.”
The proposal was also refused because planners felt some of the residential units proposed were undersized and that the new flats would have a negative impact on some nearby existing residences.
