Three Southwark pubs have been given a special status which means the community has the first right to buy them if they are ever sold.
A trio of boozers – the Beehive in Walworth, the Bear in Camberwell, and the Ship, in Borough – were all given Asset of Community Value status last month.
The status is given to buildings which further the social wellbeing of a community.
It means a community group can bid to buy the building if sold, and the seller must sell to a community group within the first six months if there is interest.
The condition will last on all three of the buildings until 2025.
READ MORE: Bid to list closed Camberwell pub as ‘asset of community value’
The Walworth Society, which nominated the Beehive on Carter Street for the status, said it was delighted at the move.
The pub used to be part of the home grounds of the Montpelier Cricket Club, before moving and becoming the Surrey County Cricket Club.
“This heritage coupled with its hidden location in West Walworth make it a very special pub for its history and atmosphere,” said the group’s Jeremy Leach.
“It is unique in Walworth and very different to other pubs situated along the high street.
“People love it for these qualities – its friendly welcome and its almost rural location in West Walworth.”
The boozer shut at the start of lockdown, but there are hopes it could reopen in 2021.
Another of the pubs, The Bear in Camberwell New Road, closed its doors in late 2017 after landlords the Wellington Pub Company closed the building to convert its upper floors into flats.
It was due to reopen in mid-2018, but is still closed. Community group, the SE5 forum, nominated it for the status.
Speaking to the News in August, resident Tracey Beresford said: “Pubs bring people together, whatever their political views.”