When you signed this petition, plans were in front of Newham Council to turn The Denmark Arms, a Grade II listed building that has stood on Barking Road since 1871, into a 24 hour adult gaming centre.
On 24 June, Newham Council refused both applications unanimously.
That happened because people acted. 187 individual objections were submitted across the two applications and not a single letter of support. Residents spoke at the committee. One of them, who had never been involved in the campaign and only heard about it in passing, gave a two minute speech that visibly landed with the councillors. This was a community result.
Why we are asking you to stay with us
A refusal is a beginning, not an end.
A separate gambling licence application is still live. It is decided by a different committee under different law, and it goes to a hearing on 22 October 2026.
The applicant can appeal the planning refusal until around the end of December.
The ground floor has been put back on the market at a rent well above anything comparable in the area, which makes it harder for any pub operator to take it on. Works are still continuing on site despite no planning permission and an enforcement order in place. We are keeping a detailed record of this.
What we are doing
Preparing for the October hearing. Pursuing an Asset of Community Value nomination, which would give the community a formal say if the building is ever sold. Pressing the Council on unauthorised works to a listed building. Talking to pub operators who are genuinely interested in the site.
What would help
If you have photographs or memories of The Denmark Arms, from a wedding, a party, a market, a pantomime, a quiet pint, please share them. This is not sentimentality. It is the evidence that supports the case that this building matters to this community, and it directly strengthens our nomination.
https://linktr.ee/protectthedenmark
And if you have not shared the petition recently, now is a good moment.
Thank you for signing. It mattered.
Protect The Denmark Arms, for East Ham, for everyone