Former nightclub to be turned into pub and flats

By Grainne Cuffe, Local Democracy Reporter

A former Clapham nightclub is set to be turned into a gastro pub and flats.

The Artesian Well and its neighbour the Lost Society restaurant and wine bar on the corner of North Street and Wandsworth Road closed in 2014 and 2016 respectively after Lambeth council clamped down on late-night hours.

It followed complaints from people about anti-social behaviour.

Developer Marston Properties bought both venues in 2017, which at the time were derelict and being used as squats.

Live-in guardians, renters who stay in vacant buildings across the capital to protect them from vandalism and squatters, have been living in the properties ahead of redevelopment.

Marston plans to revamp the Artesian Well into a local pub, knock down the former Lost Society, and build nine flats across both sites.

It says the area has declined in recent years to the point where pubs have shut down.

According to its planning statement: “The area has suffered due to its separation from Clapham Old Town to the south and from the larger Lavender Hill local shopping area to the west.

“It has been unable to attract sufficient footfall to sustain three public houses in such close proximity.

“Similarly, it has failed to deliver sufficient variety or quality of offer to attract potential patrons to the area across the day as well as in the evenings.”

Marston owns several buildings nearby and said it plans to regenerate the area to bring it back into “productive mixed use”.

The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA), an organisation which promotes traditional pubs, has backed the plans, although raised some concerns that it may be difficult to find a buyer for the pub with flats above it.

It said: “Our view is that the junction where this pub is sited needs the return of a pub, which it has been without since the demise of the Mist on the Rocks as well as the Lost Society and Artesian Well, originally the Nag’s Head, on the opposite corner.”

Several nearby residents also support the plans.

One wrote on the planning application: “We believe this to be a very welcome redevelopment of a rundown site which is a current eyesore on our road.

“We are excited for the development to be giving the go-ahead and fully support this.”

Lambeth council published a decision notice approving the plans on August 6.

Work on the development is expected to begin in late 2021.

Pictured top: The former Artesian Well pub