Residents have told of their anger at plans to turn an historic London pub into a a “TGI Friday’s-style” restaurant.
The Thomas A Becket on Old Kent road has been shut for two years after its licence was revoked following a serious assault, in which a man had his neck slashed with a broken bottle.
But now Southwark councillors could approve plans to turn it into a restaurant with a late licence.
The pub was famous as being where boxer Henry Cooper trained.
The premises is now set to be reborn as Rock Island, a Cypriot restaurant, and the owner wants a licence to open until 1am.
However, beleaguered residents who thought their woes had ended when the pub shut in 2015 have written to Southwark Council begging it to reject the application.
Many said they feared the late licence would see people having sex in the car park, urinating on the street and having loud, profanity-laden arguments and fights throughout the night, all of which they said had been a problem in the past.
One wrote: “I cannot object strongly enough to the pub being reopened by the same owner and I am stunned by their audacity to even make an application given the history violent incidents on the premises.”
Another added: “We have no confidence that the new licensee will be any different to the previous licensee, particularly in respect of being family-friendly or community oriented and this is supported by the proposed opening hours.”
The application, which will be reviewed at a meeting on January 30, seeks to “turn the venue into a premises like TGI Friday or Steak House without losing its heritage”.
It adds: “The plans submitted with the application indicate the use of the outside area marking six tables seating 24 persons.”
The pub has a rich boxing association, with greats including Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Sugar Ray Leonard also having sparred there when preparing for bouts in Britain.
Jeremy Leach, Chair of the Walworth Society, said it is imperative the pub retains and cherishes its history.
“We are keen for the building to come back into use but we are also keen for local residents’ concerns about the hours to be met, they are extremely worried,” he told the Standard.
“We are playing a bit of a waiting game as we don’t know what the council will say at the licence meeting.”
The Bermondsey venue also played a role in Britain’s musical heritage: its second floor was used as a rehearsal space for David Bowie’s seminal 1972 album The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars.
It had been set for auction in 2015 with a guide price just shy of £2 million before the council stepped in at the eleventh hour to save it.
