The future of a well-loved community pub is under threat after a planning application to have it bulldozed was submitted.

And the Horseshoe pub’s punters, who have started a petition to save the London Road watering hole, have raised concerns that there soon will be nowhere quite like it for them to go.

The news comes after numerous pubss in the area, including landmark venue the Wheatsheaf, closed in recent years.

Fred Chambers, 60, of Burton Close, has lived in Thornton Heath for most of his life. He said the future looks bleak for community pubs.

RELATED: Well-loved Thornton Heath pub The Horseshoe under threat of demolition

Mr Chambers added: “We’ll soon see the death of the way of life where people finish work, go to their local pub and see their friends, drink and have a laugh.

“I understand that building homes is essential, but the situation here is becoming ridiculous. There will be nowhere left for us to go.

“I’ve lived in Thornton Heath for most of my life, and seen regulars move from pub to pub because they keep getting closed.

“Places like this should be preserved and not overlooked. Leave our pubs alone.”

The proposal to demolish the pub was submitted by Stamos Yeoh Architects to Croydon Council on November 17 and validated on December 8.

Diane Flaherty, manager of the Horseshoe, only saw that planning permission was submitted after she saw a poster on a neighbouring building on Christmas day.

If the application gets approved the pub would be replaced with a four or five-storey development comprising retail or business space and homes.

Another concerned resident, Ruth Ayton, a Girls Brigade leader, said the area’s “inner charm” has been lost since pubs have closed.

She said: “I moved here more than 30 years ago and found an inner charm with the way that every street corner had a pub, but not far away you could also find a church.

“That has changed as all the pubs have closed down and become residential, and most of the church buildings have been turned into nurseries or used as something else.”

The pub’s regulars have started a petition, which is being passed amongst residents in the area to oppose the plans. It is understood have more than 100 signatures.

George Stamos, head of Stamos Yeoh Architects's project, said: "[The development] will actually secure continued community use.

"We think this pub is being replaced with something that will inject something else into the community."

Do you spend time in the Horseshoe pub? Send your thoughts to sean.morrison@london.newsquest.co.uk or call the newsroom on 0208 7226363.