1st October 2017
The Strand’s historic India Club is “under threat” from plans to turn it into a plush hotel.
Marston Properties, which owns the site has submitted plans to Westminster Council to replace the India Club’s first-floor canteen-style restaurant and lounge bar with en-suite hotel rooms.
India Club director Yadgar Marker said: “I could have easily modernised (the club) but it has such a strong heritage. The ambience is still the same, the furniture is still the same. People feel as if they are in Mumbai or Calcutta.”
Celebrity fans include writer Will Self, who described the club as “beautifully old-fashioned”.
A petition to ensure the future of the India Club has gathered more than 1,000 signatures.
A spokesman for Marston Properties said the submission was “just one explorative option” and “certainly not a notice whatsoever of our intention and must not be interpreted as such”.