A community group is rallying to save a once popular pub in Brighton from being turned into houses.
The Phoenix Residents Association is fighting plans to convert the Free Butt pub into three shared houses.
They want the former grassroots music venue, on the corner of Albion Street and Phoenix Place, to be declared an “asset of community value”.
The pub closed in 2010 after a series of noise complaints and has been empty ever since.
A developer, One Phoenix Place, applied to create “cluster flats”, effectively shared houses, with some wheelchair-accessible areas, and 28 “bed spaces” over four floors.
Brighton and Hove City Council turned down the planning application but the company has appealed against the refusal.
In response, Phoenix Estate residents started their “Save the Free Butt” campaign which included an online petition.
Community fundraiser Tina March said that the appeal felt like doomsday as they had to start their opposition again.
She would like to see a museum in the building showing the history of the pub, which dates back to the 18th century, as well as its musical heritage.
Ms March said: “It’s been used for locals. It’s been used for workers for a couple of hundred years. It’s seen out wars, prime ministers, the monarchy. This is our history.
“Too many local pubs are disappearing. We don’t want to see it go. We want to use it for the community. We want to celebrate it not destroy it.
“All the different things we would like to do would benefit the community at large. What the developers are proposing doesn’t benefit anyone but their pockets.”
Phoenix Residents Association chair Sarah McCarthy is frustrated that developers can “leapfrog” a locally made decision and go to a national body with its appeal.
She said that she wanted an alternative that would be better for the community than tiny rooms with limited communal space – one of the grounds for refusing the planning application.
Ms McCarthy said that it would take a lot of effort to raise the money to bring the pub back into community use – and this could only happen if the developer was prepared to sell.
She said: “We would have to go into partnership with other community groups who, like us, are food hubs.
Should never have been forced to close
If people don’t like living near a live venue, they should MOVE, rather than complain!!!!
The sheer stupidity and entitlement of people who move near to a live venue or pub then expect peace & quiet is absolutely ridiculous, perhaps they should have done their due diligence before moving in