The sale of a former Evening Standard Pub of the Year to Tesco has prompted fierce opposition from locals.
The Prince of Wales in Battersea Bridge Road won the award in 2000, when it was called The Settle Inn and under different ownership.
But earlier this month its most recent owner, Faucet Inns, sold the property to Tesco for an undisclosed sum. It has since been stripped of fixtures and fittings and boarded up.
In former years the pub was very popular and used to sponsor sports teams playing in Battersea Park. But residents said that recently it had appeared run down.
Peter Webber, who is spearheading the campaign to stop Tesco opening there, said: “This will destroy the character of the area. We already have excellent shopping just a few minutes’ walk in any direction. Many small shopkeepers will be hit very hard and probably put out of business by this unwarranted intrusion. My conversations with other residents show overwhelmingly that we don’t need and don’t want a Tesco here.”
Pharmacist Parish Patel, whose shop is in a parade including an independent family-owned supermarket and a butcher, added: “It will very much dilute the business around here, which is already very quiet. We will definitely see closures, I am sure of that.”
A spokesman for Wandsworth council said: “The new owners do not need planning consent to change the building’s use from a pub to a shop.
“However this is very important local building within a conservation area, so any changes to the exterior will require planning consent and any application will be scrutinised very closely.”
A Tesco spokesman said: “We know from previous experience our stores add greater convenience and choice to neighbourhoods and also provide local jobs for the community.
“We have been told by the [previous] owners that the pub unfortunately closed due to a drop in sales, and it was advertised openly on the property market, which is how we heard about the opportunity. We look forward to opening a store in the neighbourhood and will keep the community informed of our plans.”
Faucet Inns, which has 20 pubs in its portfolio, was unavailable for comment.
