Friends of the White Lion pub, Walsall are campaigning to save it as a listed building.

Transcript

00:00Okay, Mark, so tell me about the White Lion and tell me about why you want to preserve it.

00:05Well, this is a very important emblematic building for the area really. It was the last pub in Carmar.

00:10It's been here since, well, there's been a pub in the area for at least 400 years.

00:14This one was built in the late 19th century.

00:18It was a central point on the main road between Walsall and West Bromwich

00:22and it's been central to the local community and community activity for very, very many years until it closed.

00:28What's the strength of feeling amongst you and obviously the group here to preserve it,

00:31to keep it as it was and maybe revive it as a growing entity?

00:35Yeah, I mean, a lot of people would like to see it as a pub.

00:38The people who used to come here as a pub and their local residents would like to see it as a pub.

00:42That's probably unlikely in its past form, though its potential future could involve a pub as part of its activity,

00:48but there's a whole range of potential uses for the local community as a community space,

00:52as a workspace, as a place for culture, for performances, et cetera, et cetera.

00:58And you've been able to get it locally listed.

01:00Obviously, that's the first step towards maybe making it a nationally listed building, a conservation project as such.

01:06Yeah, well, there's two steps we've taken.

01:08One is to get local listing through the local authority, which gives it some protection,

01:12but it's the first step on the step towards getting it listed by English Heritage on a national listing.

01:18The second thing we've done is we're just applying now for an asset of community value,

01:23which gives it a particular space in a local authority setting,

01:29whereby anyone owning the building or wanting to sell it have to consult with the local community first.

01:35And to be honest, you'd like to be able to go back in there and have a pint of Mild again, wouldn't you?

01:38I'd love to have a pint of Highgate Mild.

01:48It's been 17 years.

01:52Many years all gone away.

01:59We all saw this place in its glory days.

02:06And it's falling away.

02:13The white lion is falling away.

02:26The white lion.

02:33Will we be back someday?

02:40Yay!