A much-loved century-old pub is set to become a Tesco after owners could not afford to keep it open.

Prince of Wales, in Battersea Bridge Road, Battersea, shut up shop last week despite a campaign from pub-goers to keep it open.

The pub was first under threat last year when developers wanted to partially demolish the Victorian buildings and build housing in it's place.

Campaigners breathed a sigh of relief when developers A4Design Consulting Limited withdrew their planning application last year.

But last week the pub announced it was closing to undergo refurbishment to make way for a new Tesco.

Planning law makes it possible for supermarkets like Tesco to take over pubs without any planning permission.

Pub owners, Faucett Inn, have been struggling to keep the pub open following a decline in customers and put it on the market.

Peter Webber, who lives next door, said: "I like living next to a pub. What do I want a Tesco for?"

Dominic Prince, a neighbour, said: "We have a good parade of shops it will just close those down. It is quite terrible I think."

A spokesman from Tesco said: "We have been told by the owners the pub unfortunately was closed due to a drop in sales and was advertised openly on the property market, which is how we heard about the opportunity."

The pub was first called The Rising Sun and was opened as early as 1851, it was renamed The Settle Inn in 2000, before being taken over by Faucett Inn and renamed Prince of Wales.


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