URGENT SAVE THE SWAN MESSAGE We have today, Tuesday 3rd December 2008, seen an email from Punch Taverns to Sarumdale, the chain who presently manage The Swan, in which a closing date of the 5th of January 2009 is given. Not only this, but the email states the pub will shut “forever”.
We have contacted the buyer over the possibility of securing a lease as a pub, so we are shocked and angry that - yet again – Punch Taverns appears determined to shut our local, utterly regardless of the community’s feeling. Punch Taverns put a ‘restrictive covenant’ on the sale, stipulating the building could not be used as a public house. The new owners have stated they will approach Punch Taverns to have this covenant removed.
Having seen the large numbers of people who came to the BBQ, who have joined our Facebook and Bebo sites as supporters, and who have come to the gigs, we know this is a very popular pub, and being privy to the finances of the pub, it is clear that - as a freehouse – The Swan is very clearly a going concern. But sadly Punch Taverns appear more interested in selling the property than landlording.
The campaign will continue until we succeed in guaranteeing a secure future for The Swan. This Thursday we will be at the CAMRA Beer Festival at the Ocean in Hackney talking to their campaign team.
We will be calling a public meeting very soon and ask all those who care about The Swan and our community to redouble your efforts: contact again Punch Taverns, buy shares in Punch to intervene at their AGM, contact your local Cllr and MP, write to the local paper, and be prepared to get to The Swan to stop it being shut.
Tomorrow (Wednesday 3 December) is our regular pub quiz so please come along and support us and get more information.
We understand the prospective owners were led to believe by Punch Taverns they would be able to convert to a synagogue when the planning process appears to make this very unlikely. The building now appears not to be a worthwhile purchase for them.
If the prospective owners are not prepared to buy out the covenant and create a lease then we ask they sell to someone who is prepared to keep this essential community asset open.
Pub closure is a hot political issue at present and this situation sums up the collapse of our community facilities with the many dangerous implications that holds. We must not let The Swan close.
Yours Glyn Harries Chair and for the Save The Swan Campaign Committee

Added December 2nd at 22:18

Save The Swan Further Events! Hackney favourites Walking Wounded and The Dublo play at The Swan this Saturday, 15th November! 8pm till 1am. Free but donations in the hat please!
And remember, next Saturday 22nd November, we have the brilliant Morning Bride and in one of their only two London gigs, Gringo Star, all the way from Atlanta, Georgia! All the bands can be checked out on myspace.
We also have our pub quiz this Wednesday (19th November) and every fortnight after. Cash prizes. Hope to see you there.
Cheers, Savetheswan.com

Added November 13th at 21:56

Upcoming events at the Swan In addition to our Pub Quiz every 2nd Wednesday, we can announce the following upcoming events. More details will be published on the Events and News pages nearer the time.
We look forward to seeing you at The Swan...
Save The Swan sessions - upcoming bands
1 November - Halloween fancy dress party with Owlls and Monkey Island. 8pm to 1am...
15 November - Walking Wounded and The Dublo
22 November - Moring Bride and all the way from Atlanta Georgia, Gringo Star
All gigs are free but donations for the bands and our campaign will be appreciated...

Added October 20th at 14:24

Next Swan General Meeting and Pub Quiz There will be a further General Meeting on the future of the Swan on Wednesday 1st October at 7.30pm followed by a pub quiz. There will also be a barbie and the smaller bar will be showing the football.

Added September 28th at 18:28

The Swan has been sold today We have been told that The Swan has been sold by Punch Taverns. We will provide more details when we have them. The community event is still on for tomorrow where more details will be given. The Committee is meeting with legal representative this evening to look at the options.

Added September 19th at 18:09

Save The Swan campaign features in The Publican The licencee of The Swan is interviewed in the trade press.

Added September 19th at 14:16

Formal reply from Giles Thorley, Chief Executive of Punch Taverns - no contracts have been exchanged... One of our supporters received this email from Giles Thorley from Punch Tavern.
"Dear Mr Beaumont
Thank you for your recent email regarding the Swan at Clapton Common. I would like to assure you that we take your concerns and the concerns of local residents seriously.
Having discussed this matter with our Operations team, I can advise that we have received a private approach to purchase the Swan and we are currently in discussions with a third party over the future of the pub. At this stage, no contracts have been exchanged. We do have a licensee in place at the moment and we are also in discussions with them about the future of the site.
We were not aware that staff at the pub had suffered low level harassment by people describing themselves as the 'new owners' and we would not support or condone this type of behaviour.
Due to the confidential nature of these discussions, we are not able to divulge any further information at this stage. I would like to reassure you that we are providing you with as much information as we are able to at this point. We will bear in mind the concerns of local residents as we proceed with the current negotiations.
I hope this addresses your concerns.
Giles Thorley Chief Executive"

Added September 18th at 16:23

Coverage in the Evening Standard The campaign to Save the Swan was covered in today's London Evening Standard. If you missed the newspaper, don't worry - you can read it online too, via the link below.

Added September 15th at 17:00

Bobov or not Bobov? The first that most of us knew about the plan to sell The Swan was thanks to a story in the Jewish Chronicle, which reported that it was members of the Bobov community who had agreed to buy the pub. But all may not be as it seems.
Another story in the Jewish Chronicle reports that there are tensions within the local Jewish community, and suggests that those seeking to buy The Swan may not be members of the main Bobov community in the area.

Added September 12th at 00:00

Hackney Gazette One of the first reports in the mainstream press was in the Hackney Gazette of 4th September. You can read it by clicking the link below - you'll find the story on page 7. To reach it, either type the page number into the box at the bottom of the screen, or click the Next button to turn pages over one at a time.

Added September 4th at 00:00

Pub to become a Shul This is the article that started it all. From the Jewish Chronicle, the original report made it seem like everything was a done deal - and lead to the first public meeting of the campaign a few weeks later on 31st August.

Added August 7th at 00:00

Keep up to date by email As well as reading out latest news on this page, you can also keep up to date via our announcements mailing list. Click the Mailing list link at the top of this page for all the details.