{"id":3290,"date":"2023-01-17T17:39:19","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T17:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/?p=3290"},"modified":"2023-01-25T13:34:07","modified_gmt":"2023-01-25T13:34:07","slug":"pub-news-january-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/londondrinker.camra.org.uk\/wordpress\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/pub-news-january-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Pub news – January 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Beehive<\/a> <\/strong>in Marylebone (W1H 4NX) has been closed for around six years. Several planning applications for redevelopment have been submitted but none have progressed. It has now been reopened by the Marylebone Leisure Group as a pop-up bar offering \u2018live sport, live music, craft beer and good times\u2019. There are adverts for the Brixton Brewery on the exterior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite a vigorous campaign by local residents, led by MP James Murray, Fuller\u2019s closed the Black Horse<\/strong><\/a> in Greenford (UB6 0AS) on 10 January. The following statement from Fuller\u2019s appeared on the Ealing News website, \u2018Shutting pubs is not something that comes easy to us at Fuller\u2019s and we have closed very few over the years. But, from time to time, we reach an impasse with a site that is just no longer viable as a business and the Black Horse is a case in point. We have been running this pub since 1848, although the site today bears little resemblance to the original pub. The area has continually changed and, despite some loyal local support, the Black Horse remains loss-making and we have no alternative than to close it and put the pub on the market for sale. We are sorry to be disappointing the few regulars in the local community that do still use the Black Horse. We have tried to reinvigorate the site many times over the years but we really have run out of road and we have no alternative than to sell<\/em>\u2019. The local campaigners secured Asset of Community Value listing for the pub last August. We now await developments as regards a sale.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Further to previous reports, a planning application for change of use to a restaurant has been submitted for the Goat <\/strong>in Ponders End (EN3 4HB), the last remaining pub in the area and a locally listed building. A change to Use Class E from Sui Generis (drinking establishment) would leave the pub vulnerable to eventual redevelopment. CAMRA\u2019s Enfield & Barnet branch has strongly objected to the application, principally on the basis that the pub has not been properly marketed in line with the London Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(c) Google Street View<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Punch Partnerships have put another former Young\u2019s Ram Pub Company tenanted house up for sale. This time it is the Jolly Gardeners<\/strong> in Mortlake (SW14 7EX). The asking price, through AG&G, is \u00a31 million. The pub stands in front of the site of the former Stag Brewery (once Watney\u2019s then AB InBev), last used to produce Budweiser and closed since 2015. The site is scheduled for redevelopment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The Jolly Gardeners public house, Mortlake<\/em>\u00a0by\u00a0Stacey Harris<\/strong> (licensed for reuse under the\u00a0Creative Commons<\/a>\u00a0Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license.)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

According to a report in the Sutton & Croydon Advertiser (10 December), the Jolly Sailor<\/strong> in South Norwood (SE25 6EB) is set to reopen about now, having been closed since early 2020. Owners Star Pubs & Bars are said to have invested \u00a3500,000 in a refurbishment. The new management plan to offer live music and will make the pub available to the local community. It will be handy for those attending games at Selhurst Park football ground.<\/p>\n\n\n

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It is reported that Shepherd Neame have decided not to renew their lease on the Rugby Tavern<\/strong> in Bloomsbury (WC1N 3ES). The rumour locally is that a proposed rent increase will make the pub unviable. The pub, which was previously operated by Nicholson\u2019s and Fuller\u2019s, is Grade II listed and is in the Bloomsbury Conservation Area so any redevelopment is highly unlikely. A new lease, said to be at a rent in excess of \u00a3100,000 per annum, has been snapped up by the pub and restaurant group, Berkeley Inns, who plan to make a \u2018significant investment\u2019 in the pub. The company, formed in 2014, currently operates three pubs in the Midlands. This is their first pub in London and they intend to acquire more. Their aim is to \u2018revitalise great properties, recapturing the atmosphere of the local pub alongside a high-quality food offer\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo (c) David Marsh<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The St Brides Tavern<\/strong> in Bridewell Place, Blackfriars (EC4V 6AP) is under threat. A planning application submitted to the City of London would, if successful, see the existing pub and an adjoining building demolished and replaced with a new block. Although it only dates from the 1950s, the existing pub, which has connections to the Worshipful Company of Gardeners, is a distinctive and attractive building. It is independently operated and its demolition would almost certainly see the existing business extinguished. Space for a new pub is included in the new plans but experience demonstrates that such plans do not always come to fruition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo (c) @PubsSaving<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Here is another example of a familiar story. The upper floors of the Paulet Arms<\/strong> in Camberwell (SE5 9HP) were turned into nine flats shortly after it was sold to developers in 2007. The ground floor was left as a pub but, as usual, it remained empty with the developer claiming in their marketing report that there was \u2018no demand for a public house of this limited size and in this area\u2019. It is now reported on the MyLondon news website that an application has been made for planning permission to convert it into a \u2018family apartment\u2019 with the addition of a rear extension. It has taken fifteen years but, in the end, the developers have got what they wanted.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Some better news of the Grade II-listed Rose & Crown<\/strong> in Highgate (N6 5HX), which has been a bakery\/caf\u00e9 for the last ten years. Planning permission has been granted for change of use from a cafe (Use Class E) back to Sui Generis (drinking establishment). The applicants were the Laine Pub Company. Listed building consent was also given for internal and external alterations plus new signage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There has been little progress in the story of Simpson\u2019s Tavern<\/strong> (EC3V 9DR), although the City of London Corporation did respond remarkably quickly to list the site as an Asset of Community Value. The crowdfunding appeal, looking to raise \u00a3385,000, was extended to 13 January. According to the Evening Standard (19 December), the freeholders were in discussion with a prospective new operator.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Punch Pubs have come up with a curious development at the Square Tavern<\/strong> in Euston (NW1 2PE). The former Ram Pub Company site, one of the block purchased from Young\u2019s, has been divided into two, with the pub\u2019s former function room becoming a separate operation called FAIM. This is aimed at people working away from their home or office by arrangement that includes unlimited hot and cold drinks and a meal for a set amount. It is also intended to be a social venue.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Another music pub is under threat. The Unicorn<\/strong> in Camden Town (NW1 9AA) closed at the beginning of the first lockdown. A planning application has now been submitted that seeks to extend the building, convert the upper floors into seven flats and repurpose the ground floor and basement to Use Class E for \u2018flexible\u2019 commercial use, most likely a supermarket. The area left for the pub\/music venue will be smaller than the supermarket and you have to doubt its viability. CAMRA\u2019s North London branch have submitted an objection.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Congratulations to the Woodman <\/strong>in Ruislip (HA4 7SE) which has won both the London & South East Pub of the Year and the Overall Pub of the Year awards in the Stars of Stonegate competition for 2022. This is open to all of Stonegate\u2019s leased and tenanted pubs and, given the size of their estate, is quite an achievement. The pub is community focused, helps charities and local causes and is dog friendly. The food offering includes street food trucks on Saturdays. The tenant, Steve Banks, came relatively late to pub management. The Woodman was his local and, after he took voluntary redundancy from a large store chain, the then tenant suggested that Steve take over the lease. He did so and, seven years later, he has revitalised the pub. Steve told the Hillingdon & Uxbridge Times, \u201cOur customers are huge supporters of the pub and I would like to say thank you to everyone who visits us. We would not be able to do what we do without you.\u201d One possibly unique feature is that the pub has its own rock band, formed by a group of customers.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(c) The Woodman Ruislip<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The Red Lion<\/strong> in Ealing (W5 5RA) closed on 12 January. A notice placed on the door by the departing tenants said, \u201cIn the light of the soaring cost increases of energy and food\/drinks, inflation and rising cost of living, it is impossible to continue trading. We will be handing the lease back to Fuller\u2019s.\u201d The pub was the CAMRA West Middlesex branch\u2019s Pub of the Year five times between 2003 and 2009.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Preventing developers from closing a pub is an achievement but the high point is seeing it reopen. Consequently, I am delighted to report that the owners of the Grade II-listed Old Justice<\/strong> in Bermondsey Wall East (SE16 4TY) have now granted a lease to some independent operators who, after doing most of the necessary works themselves, hope to have the pub open at the end of January, serving \u2018affordable, good quality pints\u2019 to the community.<\/p>\n\n\n

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OUTSIDE LONDON<\/strong>
Happily, CAMRA\u2019s Pub Heritage Group have reported that the Grade II-listed Viper in Mill Green, Essex (CM4 0PT) has reopened. As promised, the new owner has extensively refurbished the pub but has done so with due respect to its historic interior.<\/p>\n\n\n

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(c) Chelmsford & Mid Essex CAMRA<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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