Greenwich pub The Pelton Arms launches appeal to survive

The Pelton Arms in Greenwich has launched an appeal as current events batter the pub industry.

The pub are hoping to raise £20,000 and at time of writing were at £4,371.

The pub is one of the best supporters of live music anywhere in south east London. In a statement on their appeal page they state:

“The Pelton Arms opened its doors just over 11 years ago on a shoestring budget using life savings, personal loans and a lot of hard work to turn it into the thriving community pub, grassroots music venue and B&B that it has become. Like so many businesses across the hospitality industry, we have had to completely change our business and shut our doors to the masses for the time being.  

The Pelton Arms, our brilliant staff and all the musicians that play at our venue face an uncertain future and we need to save The Pelton Arms so that there is a job for everyone at the end of all this! 

We’ve been providing a takeaway and grocery delivery service since the lockdown has started, but our overheads remain the same and have now reached a point where realistically, we could be facing a long closure with minimal trading. This isn’t something that we could have prepared for and we need help to cover our existing costs to survive the shutdown.

The Pelton Arms put on over 200 gigs a year in a back street pub in Greenwich, we have regular open mics, renowned bands, up and coming bands, cover bands and also host the best known Blues Jam in London all of which are free entry. We have live music on Thursday through to Sunday plus more nights some weeks! We employ sound engineers and DJs and without live music our business is relatively non-existent.

We would like to think you’ve had some good times with us and that we have been there for you. We have never charged for tickets or an entry fee to hear all the brilliant live music acts so what we are asking is that if you’ve had a good time at The Pelton, seen a good band, enjoyed the music quiz, the pub quiz, the bingo nights, feasted from the free cheeseboard on a Sunday night, watched a great sporting event, enjoyed staying with us or simply enjoyed a quiet pint on your own then now we really need you to be there for us so that we can reopen when all this has passed.  

We understand that Coronavirus is having a huge effect on everyone’s lives and many peoples livelihoods, so ask that only those who consider themselves to be in a financially stable position donate.

Thank you for supporting this campaign and we really hope to see you all again very soon.

Cheers!

The Pelton Arms “

The appeal can be seen here.

Greenwich has lost a number of pubs in recent years. The Thames Inn was recently pulled down:

As was the Lord Hood:

New flats are planned on both sites, though once the Thames Inn redevelopment secured permission the land was immediately put up for sale.

Running a site alone takes time and a fair bit of money. Adverts are far from enough to cover it and my living costs as a private renter.