The hearing last week at Hackney Town Hall was the first appeal against an ACV listing to be heard in the UK since the introduction of the ACV regime in the Localism Act 2011.
The Council registered the pub, which closed last year, as an ACV in March following a request from campaign group Save the Chesham. An ACV listing gives a community group six months to put together a bid for the asset if the owners notify the Council that they intend to sell the pub. The owner of the pub subsequently requested an appeal of the Council's decision.
Mayor of Hackney Jules Pipe welcomed the judge's decision. "Our concern all along has been to protect The Chesham Arms from developers and to retain it as a valuable community hub," he said in a statement. "Pubs like the Chesham Arms bring together local residents and help to build close neighbourhoods, and they deserve to be protected. The current owner should either re-open this historic building as a pub or sell it to someone who will."
The judge is expected to issue written reasons for his decision in the next few weeks.
