Brewery bosses made a sensational 11th-hour u-turn when they withdrew controversial plans for a disco at a Wandsworth Common pub halfway through an emotionally-charged licensing meeting

They admitted they had seriously underestimated the strength of feeling in the neighbourhood, leaving campaigners - some of whom were close to tears at the meeting - in jubilant mood.

The Pitcher and Piano in Bellevue Road had applied for a public entertainment licence which council officers had recommended be approved by the committee.

But after seeing the number of bars and restaurants in Bellevue Road increase from two to 11 in the last decade while shops and banks have closed, residents bombarded the council with 86 letters of objection.

Scores of protesters also turned up to last week's meeting, worried about noise from the venue, litter and parking problems but certain they were fighting a losing cause because of the officers' recommendation.

"We opposed this because it would have been impossible to soundproof the glass conservatory at the back of the pub and it would have caused an enormous amount of disturbance to houses just 20 feet away," said Jerome Willis from the Bellevue Residents' Association.

But he said the tide of the meeting began to turn when councillors Stuart King and Maurice Heaster spoke up for residents and after one resident appeared on the verge of tears.

The woman - who did not want to be named - told the Borough News after the meeting: "I think I was quite moved by the effort and passion everyone had shown and I was growing more and more concerned that this thing, which would have a huge impact of large numbers of people, could actually be steamrollered through."

Councillor Heaster said councillors agreed with residents that a disco would have been unsuitable in an area full of young families and pensioners.

"Having seen the depth of opposition I very much hope the brewery will scrap these plans. However, if it tries to resurrect them in the future it will undoubtedly face the same strong opposition."

Pitcher and Piano operations manager John Gormally confirmed the company would work more closely with local people from now on.

"We're a new team and we weren't really aware of the resentment felt. We realised it had all gone too far and felt it wasn't appropriate to alienate the community."

December 7, 2001 10:35