Police raided The Angel pub in Roehampton with a helicopter and drug dogs, arrested two people, and found evidence of drug dealing. Now they want its licence revoked.
A statement tied to a post outside the pub notes “serious concerns regarding the management and operation of the premises” and cites fights, intimidation, crime, drug dealing and officers being assaulted for why it should be shut down.
Later this month, a licensing committee will decide if Roehampton ends up with a single pub for its 20,000 inhabitants. Putney, with 30,000 people, has 15.
The raid
Police raided The Angel on 10 October after months of complaints about drug dealing and antisocial behaviour. It had been on the Met’s radar for some time as the centre of local criminal activity and was closed for three days in the aftermath.
A few months earlier, in July, Marc Evans was arrested at his Roehampton home and held on remand at Wandsworth Prison. He was due in court last week. A second man, Siyad Abdulla was arrested at his home in Fulham last month after he failed to appear in court on drug offences and ended up charged with possession with intent to supply Class A drugs.
During Abdulla’s arrest the police found “a large quantity of cocaine, cannabis and MDMA along with paraphernalia consistent with drug dealing such as scales and deal bags.” His hearing is later this month. “He won’t be dealing drugs either in Putney or the wider South West London area anytime soon,” the police noted.
It’s part of a criminal web that the police are determined to shut down and The Angel, with its traditional pub feel of darts and bingo, is considered the social epicentre.
The petition
Not all locals are happy about the effort however.
An online petition to keep it open has already collected 291 signatures. Petition creator Jacky Wood calls the management “dutiful” operators who “cultivated an environment that welcomes all” for over a decade.
The Angel is “the heart and soul” of the community, the petition argues, and losing it would be “devastating” for Roehampton. For years, it has been a regular haunt of council officials whose Western Area Housing Office is nearby, although after the raid they were advised to go elsewhere.
The petition claims the Angel dates back to the 16th century, although Historic England lists no protection for the Angel. The King’s Head next door meanwhile is Grade II-listed, as is the former Montague Arms just seconds walk away – but it was closed and converted into a shop and flats 20 years ago, leaving just two pubs for the whole area.
The Angel itself is owned by Punch Partnerships (PML) Limited, one of five the company owns in Wandsworth, and part of the larger Punch Group which possesses over 1,200 pubs across the UK, operating them under various lease and tenancy models.
Sally Ann Cox has been its designated premises supervisor for over 10 years and is legally responsible for the The Angel’s day-to-day operations.
The petition to save it doesn’t mention the police raid.
What happens next
The licensing committee will hold a public hearing some time after 21 February.
Anyone can submit written representations. They must relate to preventing crime, ensuring safety, preventing nuisance, or protecting children. You can back the police or oppose them.
The committee will have a range of options: do nothing, modify conditions, remove the supervisor, suspend the licence for three months, or revoke it permanently.
We have asked Punch Partnerships (PML) what its views are of the application to revoke the pub’s licence. We have also asked the three local councillors, Cllr Henderson, Tiller and Yates, whether they will attend the hearing and if they will support locals who want it kept open, or the police who want it shut. We have yet to hear from them.
Until then, the future of the The Angel – a name that sits at odds with its reputation – hangs in the balance.
