Celebrities line up to join campaign to save 600-year-old East End pub

 
Celebrity backing: landlady Pauline Forster outside The George in Stepney. Left, Georgia May Jagger
Miranda Bryant3 March 2014

Londoners were today urged to join a celebrity-backed campaign to support an east London pub and music venue facing closure.

The George Tavern in Stepney, which is over 600 years old, has been under threat for eight years because developers want to turn the neighbouring building - the former Stepneys nightclub - into six flats.

Landlady Pauline Forster said that if the development went ahead the pub will be forced to close because of noise complaints. She also fears the scheme could damage her building, a claim developers deny.

The long fight against the plan has become urgent because campaigners have only until Wednesday to present their reasons for opposing it after Swan Housing Group appealed against Tower Hamlets council's decision to deny it planning permission.

The campaign has been joined by stars including model Georgia May Jagger, punk poet John Cooper Clarke and singer Lianne La Havas, as well as long-time supporter Kate Moss.

A petition to save it has nearly 2,000 signatures and more than 1,000 written comments supporting it.

Kaiser Chiefs frontman Ricky Wilson watched singers from TV's The Voice play a gig at the pub to promote the campaign. He said: "Live music is something this country should be very proud of. It does not start on the television screen, it starts on a sticky carpet in front of a dusty curtain."

Ms Forster, who has been renovating the Grade II-listed building to its former glory with paint and gold leaf, said: "People from all over the world come here because they think it's the most beautiful place they've ever walked into.

"Six flats next to a pub and music venue, with events until 3am - it's very obvious that anyone living there won't be able to tolerate it. I would lose my licence or it would be restricted and the George Tavern really needs its music to pay its way. If you don't put up a fight, it's easy for developers to get their way in this climate when people are being told there isn't enough affordable housing."

The George hosts new music nights, exhibitions, film, poetry and spoken-word gigs, and featured in Plan B's movie Ill Manors and Nick Cave's debut video for his project Grinderman.

A Swan Housing Association spokeswoman said: "Substantial acoustic testing and analysis has been undertaken and every effort made in the design of the scheme to ensure minimal noise exposure for new residents."

For more information on the campaign, visit savethegeorgetavern.com.

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