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Freemasons Arms |
Protests over extra helping of gastro-pub
Neighbours object to extension
ONE of Hampstead’s best-loved gastro-pubs has hit the
wrong note with neighbours after unveiling plans to expand.
Bosses at the Freemasons Arms in Downshire Hill – popular
for its log-burning fires and al fresco dining in the summer
– are facing a nervous wait as planners consider proposals
to build a two-storey extension and a garden room.
Officials at the Town Hall are likely to give a decision on
the plans next month.
Residents living nearby, however, have already warned that they
will campaign against the extensions, arguing that the pub will
tower over their homes.
Humphrey Rang, who lives in Willow Road, said: “The Freemasons
Arms is already over-large as a building in this residential
area and should not be enlarged further.
“The proposed two-storey extension comes within a few feet
of our garden boundary, presenting a blank brick wall, which
would not only loom over our garden but would also be clearly
visible from houses in Willow Road and Pilgrim’s Walk.”
He added: “Hampstead is already well provided, even over-provided,
with restaurants and pubs.”
Painter Diana Lindsay, who lives in South End Road, said: “It’s
a good pub, and I don’t mind that it’s noisy in the
summer, but they will be building right to people’s garden
walls.
“An extension would bring many more people to the area,
and they cause mess – throwing bottles and papers into
our gardens.”
Sam Smith, a human resource consultant who has lived in Downshire
Hill for 10 years, said: “I think it’s quite big enough.”
The Freemasons Arms won a Gastro Pub of the Year award in a
competition sponsored by the Sunday Independent and LBC radio
station last year.
Surveyor Phillip Comer, from The JTS Partnership, hired by brewery
Mitchells and Butler, defended the pub’s extension plans.
He said: “The extension is well-designed, while the external
work, which would include new railings to the front of the property,
would enhance the character and appearance of the Freemasons
Arms and its setting within the Hampstead Conservation Area.”
He believes neighbours will have less disturbance because the
beer garden will be smaller. |
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