Developer Adenbuild Construction has appealed the council’s decision, taking the case out of local hands and up to the Planning Inspectorate.
The proposal, which was rejected in June, sought to demolish The Trafalgar on High Path and build a four-storey block with six flats and a smaller bar space on the ground floor.
Councillors rejected the application, citing the “substantial harm” the scheme would do to the area’s heritage, social fabric and identity.
Now, the Planning Inspectorate in Bristol will decide the pub’s fate.
Members of the public have until August 22 to make their views known via the government’s appeals portal.
Locals now have one last chance to weigh in before the appeal is decided.
The case reference is APP/T5720/W/25/3368173.
The Trafalgar, named South West London Pub of the Year in 2024, is known for its real ales, simple old-school interiors and fiercely loyal crowd.
Oli, who runs the Trafalgar, broke the news to regulars on Sunday.
He said: “Yesterday morning many of you will have received the same disappointing letter I did.
“The Traf is in peril again.
“Our freeholder has decided to appeal Merton council’s planning committee decision to reject their plans to erase local history by bulldozing the pub as it stands and replace it with a smaller pub situated in a monstrosity of a four storey building with six flats above it.
“The designs looked like they were something out of an architect’s best impression of something from out of a desolate Tattooine spacescape.
“Like so many of you, the committee decided that the pub that we all know and love was too important a bastion of the local community to be lost.
“Its status as an important heritage asset and a gem in the less celebrated corner of SW19 as a social hub was recorded as the primary reason for the rejection of the plans.
“Fast forward two months, and we are once again facing a decision that is somewhat out of our hands, the appeal has gone to the Secretary of State and the planning inspectorate in Bristol.
“But fear not. We will rally again, and we will fight this.
“Many of us feared this would happen, and despite being roundly rejected, once again we have to dig in and organise to reject this appeal.
“Far too many pubs are being lost. Whether it’s developers’ greed, economic turbulence and political ignorance or rising costs.
“But we are a thriving pub, undeterred, with a wonderful community.
“ So whether you’re a regular, a local, an occasional, a yet-to-visit enthusiast or simply keen on preserving history, join us.”
Local Labour Councillor for Abbey, where the Trafalgar Pub is located, Mike Brunt said: “I’m incredibly proud of the residents who joined our campaign to save our local pub. But now we need to get to work again to make our voices heard in this appeal.
“The Trafalgar is one of the only freehold pubs left in the area and means a great deal to us as a community.
“It is culturally and historically important, and we believe it should be protected.”
