Meridian Pub

Meridian Pub

Pub no longer commercially viable. New owners, Brighton based Creative Developments Ltd. have been given planning permission (26/05/2010) to knock the pub down and make way for five terraced town houses. Pub was built in the 1880’s for workers of Lewes Prison and has some historic flint walls as part of its structure. Key issues are debate about demolition, discussion about appropriate building style, housing density and parking pressure because they have no parking spaces. Many people object to the modern style proposed - pre-planning advice to developers from planning officers was that the design should, rather than could be modern, which influenced the design. The new houses will have a combined visual impact with the Canon O’Donnell site. Together they have a significant visual impact on the town’s western gateway.

Bulldozers close in on Meridian pub in Lewes
Sussex Express
Published Date: 28 May 2010
A COUNCIL called time on The Meridian in Lewes when it approved plans to demolish the pub and replace it with five homes.

Lewes District Council gave the scheme the green light at its planning meeting with a slim majority of just five votes to four.

The pub is located at a gateway to the town and the new South Downs National Park.

But investigations revealed that the existing structure of the pub in Western Road was in fact relatively modern.

The building was put up on the site of a Victorian structure, however the only part of the original building which survived was the flint wall in Western Road.

The council said the Victorian building had been compromised so much that there was little value in keeping it.

The building was originally called The Canteen and served the workers building Lewes Prison in the 1860s.

Later names included The Rifleman and The Pewter Pot.

However during the last decade alone there had been four changes of landlords with three of these leaving because the business was not viable.

Brewer Shepherd Neame, which owned the pub for 36 years, blamed its decline on change in social attitudes, increase in beer tax and utility costs, as well as other licensing factors.