Overview

• The Planning Inspectorate overturned Royal Borough of Greenwich’s enforcement notice and granted conditional permission for the pub’s long-used seating on the stretch known as The Knuckle.
• The pub must submit a detailed management plan within three months that maintains at least a 2.5m clear passage and sets out measures to manage staff movements and service safely.
• Inspector Lee Douglas found no proven harm to the nearby Old Royal Naval College, noting only modest heritage impact from some umbrellas partially obscuring views of the listed pub and wider setting.
• Measured widths showed the path narrows before The Knuckle, but the inspector recorded no evidence of collisions and identified staff movements as the greatest access risk to address.
• The landlord said the decision preserves jobs after warning of up to 75 potential losses, while the council said any use must safeguard accessibility and avoid setting a precedent, with reports of more than 2,000 public letters opposing removal.