The coveted Ravensbourne Arms site in Lewisham, which has been the subject of a bid for a community-led music venue by non-profit collective Sister Midnight, is now being targeted by developers for new flats on the ground floor. Sister Midnight had attempted to raise £260,000 through community investment and donations to acquire the site, but lost out when it was outbid. Developers have claimed that there have been no other offers made on the pub site for the past seven years. However, Sister Midnight has challenged this argument, stating that their project had been very public and is now demanding an explanation.
The community collective placed multiple offers for the leasehold on the pub, but each was rejected by the owner due to a desired sale price over £1.2 million above market value. The shuttered pub was closed down in 2016 and though the pub has largely remained boarded up, the second floor has been converted into seven flats. Sister Midnight campaign argued for the live music pub, with the second-floor transforming into a venue. Though the venue was not acquired, the group is opening Lewisham’s first-ever community-owned music space in 2025 by securing a seven-year lease on the former Brookdale Club.
The Sister Midnight team has condemned the latest development plan. The collective claims that this groundbreaking development would surely erase any chance of the Ravensbourne being brought back into community use as a pub. Sister Midnight added that they had been previously informed by estate agents that a competing buyer had made an offer for the leasehold on the pub in 2022, and are questioning the owners’ claims that there have been no offers for the last seven years. The group hopes that Lewisham Council will not approve a planning application based on “demonstrably false claims”.
The proposed plan is to turn the Ravensbourne Arms site into new flats on the ground floor, which makes the site’s use for a community-led music venue highly unlikely. Sister Midnight is now targeting a second venue in Lewisham. The collective has secured a seven-year lease on the former Brookdale Club, which is a disused working men’s club in Catford, set to become Lewisham’s first-ever community-owned music space
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