More than 1,000 people have signed a petition to save a pub in Goodmayes which had a demolition notice placed on it on Friday.
The Lord Napier pub, Green Lane has been closed since May and campaigners have been working ever since to ensure it stays as a pub.
Morag McCall, leading the campaign, said the pub can be found on maps dating back to 1864 and it should be
She said: “We are trying to prevent it being demolished. The best outcome is for someone to buy it who values the importance of a community asset like a pub and will ensure that it reopens as a pub.”
Miss McCall added: “It was a meeting place for all sections of the community, for people to make friends or who are elderly – it was their opportunity to get out.
“Now people have to travel further and further away to achieve the same thing.”
The pub was also regularly used as a venue for live music bands which are rare according to Miss McCall especially after The Cauliflower, High Road, Ilford closed in May.
Miss McCall said: “There are a number of local bands, there’s a whole community of them that are not getting as many gigs as there are only so many venues that can host live music and bands.”
Miss McCall believes the pub is the oldest building in Goodmayes.
She says as a result the building should be protected as part of our cultural heritage.
“In British society we are losing more and more pubs and it’s an important part of a community for people to meet,” she said. “We’ve put in an application to English Heritage to get it recognised.”
To get involved in the campaign visit www.change.org/en-GB and search for The Lord Napier.
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