Half Moon community value status ‘big step forward’

Campaigners fighting to save a great south London pub and music venue, the Half Moon at Herne Hill, have won a round in their battle by convincing Southwark council to make it an asset of community value (ACV).

The news came soon after another venue, the 414 Club in Brixton, was granted a judicial review of Lambeth council’s agreement that it should be converted to flats and a shop.

Peter Blair, 54, who is leading the Save the Half Moon Campaign said: “With ACV status we have taken a significant step forward towards reopening and saving the Half Moon for our community as a music pub.

“This is a great Christmas present for the people of Herne Hill, who have been unequivocal in their support for the pub as a live music venue.

“We appreciate that we still have work to do with the landlord of the Half Moon, which is why we are also in contact with the Mayor’s Music Venues Taskforce, with a view to working towards a long-term commitment and sustainable business plan for the pub as a grassroots music venue.”

An online petition to the Mayor of London to save live music at the Half Moon in Herne Hill now has more than 6,000 supporters.

The real beer campaign CAMRA says ACV status means that a pub cannot be demolished or converted into flats or a hotel overnight – and that the local community must have a say should it come under threat.

The Half Moon has been shut since August 2013 when it, along with many other places, was flooded by a burst water main. Water rose above waist hright in some areas.

It belongs to the Dulwich Estate – a charity established by Edward Alleyn in 1619 and until 1995 known as Alleyn’s College of God’s Gift at Dulwich.

In July 2014 it submitted plans for the conversion of the upper floors of the Half Moon into five flats with a small house at the rear, retaining only a “refurbished” public house on the ground floor. With homes above it, music would have been out of the question.

But Southwark’s planners suggested felt the upper floors should not be used for residential accommodation.

Now Dulwich Estate sees the future of the building as an upmarket hotel/restaurant like the Tulse Hill Hotel.

More on the campaign to save the Half Moon here.