PIC 1: Ricky Gervais.
PIC 2: The Old White Bear in Hampstead.

Published: 12 December, 2013
by ALICE HUTTON

COMEDIAN and actor Ricky Gervais has joined more than 250 campaigners backing a petition to save the Old White Bear pub in Hampstead from being turned into a six-bedroom house.

Ever Decreasing Circles actor Peter Egan has also added his name to the campaign’s petition, which follows the revelation in last week’s New Journal that the pub in Well Road is due to close in February.

The grass-roots community group, formed by local residents, have also launched a written and online Change.org petition, started Twitter and Facebook accounts, and are planning a “flashmob” protest in Hampstead High Street on Saturday with people dressed in white bear costumes to raise awareness of plans to close the bar.

The 19th-century building, which has been trading on that site since 1704, was sold by Punch Taverns in the summer for £1.575million to Braaid Ventures Ltd.

The Isle of Man-based property developers submitted the planning application to Camden Council last Monday after plummeting beer sales left the business unprofitable, their managing agent Simon Grainger said.

Leeann Young, 32, one of the campaign’s organisers, said that Hampstead had lost “too many pubs” over the past 20 years.

She added: “There is a group of us who got together and we decided we actually had to do something because it is quite a short time-frame as the pub is due to close by February 2.”

Ms Young, from New End, added: “We decided we would take to Hampstead High Street on one of the busiest shopping days before Christmas to raise awareness. We are going to have about 30 to 40 people, some of them will be in bear costumes.

“It is a last stand for those who feel passionately about saving the pub.”

The protesters will be on the high street, outside Barclays Bank, from noon until 2pm.

In a protest letter sent to Camden Council’s planning office, they wrote that the NW3 area had lost 14 pubs since 1995 which had “dramatically  reduced the amount of available space for community use”.

It added: “The Old White Bear plays an important and active community role, and is accessible to all members of the community, including the disabled.”

Janine Griffis, who is organising the new Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum, added that the “importance of pubs in our area” would be one of their priorities and “whether we can help protect them through making them designated community assets”.

Simon Grainger, of Grainger Planning Associates Ltd on behalf of Braaid Ventures Ltd, said in a letter to the New Journal: “We understand why some residents want to preserve popular local pubs.  But the fact of the matter is that The Old White Bear is now primarily a restaurant and has not operated solely as a pub for over four years because it was not making any money as a pub. At the same time, a number of more popular Hampstead pubs nearby have been more successful in serving the local community.

“The proposals to convert this late-19th-century building into a family home will respect the building’s heritage. No external alterations are proposed and the front elevation will remain unchanged. Any internal changes will not affect the appearance of the building and it will continue to make a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the conservation area.”