North London residents who thought they had saved a traditional pub from being converted into flats have now found the doors shut to drinkers - and an estate agent inside using it as a branch.
The West End Extra news website says The Star in St John's Wood was last month awarded Asset of Community Value status by Westminster council following a campaign to stop it being converted to residential use.
However, estate agent Gray Champion is now using it for his company, Champion Estates, having signed a lease to operate it as an office.
It doesn't look like a modern estate agency because it's an old building. We are torn between how we can maintain the feeling of what it was and still make it an estate agency. The locals want to have a nice pub on the corner. But it was a business not a community service says Champion.
The plan now is for the pub to be renovated to work as a modern office while preserving the integrity of the original building.
St John's Wood has been the scene of anti-agency complaints in the recent past. The West End Extra news website quotes local resident Dave Taylor as saying: I've got the right hump about this. The area has had it as far as the locals are concerned. We've got a pub up the road but it's £4.80 for a pint. We've got elderly people using this pub, they can't afford to go in there.
He claims there are already 12 estate agents in the St John's Wood area.
Comments
With respect, it was up to the publican or brewery to inform the staff of events, and NOT the Estate Agent, so the "ethical standards" you refer to are irrelevant in this discussion.
The pub may well have been "popular and busy", RichardH - but it simply couldn't have been pulling in sufficient cash to make it a viable operation... could it
It has simply gone the way of countless other pubs up and down the country.
[quote][/quote]Might I ask what those loyal folks you refer to might have against 'The New Inn' Or 'The Ordnance Arms' Or 'The Duke of York' for that matter All seem to be within walking distance of their old watering hole.
It's the clientele that 'make' a pub. It's the lack of them that generally closes it. Just like Estate Agencies[quote][/quote]
PeeBee - Star customers have nothing against these other pubs but they each offer something different and distinctive, with the Star being just a plain old-fashioned boozer. That is why it was so popular and busy. Any reason why you seem to favour it becoming the 13th estate agent in SJW
Also the Star closed not because of lack of clientele but because of a shady, underhand deal in which no-one had the courtesy to tell the staff what was going on until they turned up for work. Thank goodness the estate agent industry generally has higher ethical standards than this.
Actually I said that changing the use of the building was a community service. Time will tell whether there are too many Estate Agents in the area - and which of them will not stand the test of time.
Might I ask what those loyal folks you refer to might have against 'The New Inn' Or 'The Ordnance Arms' Or 'The Duke of York' for that matter All seem to be within walking distance of their old watering hole.
It's the clientele that 'make' a pub. It's the lack of them that generally closes it. Just like Estate Agencies.
PeeBee - that's an interesting argument - estate agents a better community service than a pub folks who have used the Star for over 20yrs (& mostly not drivers in my experience) might beg to disagree. The area already has 12 estate agents.
"...your first priority should be the purchase of a moral compass."
Okay - how's about this. Last time I checked, NO-ONE has ever driven away from an Estate Agent's premises p!$$ed out of their tiny brain and caused a motor accident that resulted in injury or death.
So... changing the use of this establishment is potentially more of a "community service" than ever keeping its' original designation, I would suggest.
Erm... I think you'll find that the Planning Class for an Estate Agent is A2, and a drinking establishment is A4.
Close - but no cigar...
James - the community had no opportunity to set up a co-operative venture, as the landlady disappeared overnight & staff (not to mention customers) turned up next day to discover the builders were already in the pub was no more.( Even if we had organised a bid, the property has to be for sale and owner is under no obligation to accept the offer.)
Also, Mr Champion is wrong - the Star was a pub AND a community service. He should be ashamed of himself for the way for this underhand scheming. Whatever money you make out of the Star I suggest your first priority should be the purchase of a moral compass.
If the local residents were so concerned at the possible loss off their local watering hole then they should have set up a co operative venture and saved it as other communities have done. It is quite understandable that they may be upset at yet another estate agent should take over the site, but it could have been worse....it may have been a Tesco express lol
Excuse me, but the planning category for a pub is the same as that for an estate agency (must be a joke in there somewhere) and indeed for many other businesses. There is not a specific pub category. What was done here would appear to be far fairer than has happened in my village, ie a pub that was bought by an individual who said he had no intention of running it as a pub and after living in it illegally as a residential house for a year has now had his change of use application approved from business to residential and has even has permission to turn outbuildings into a second house. It was the only pub in our village too.
Exactly what the country needs, another estate agent!
Ridiculous! How many estate agents do you need in one place And St John's Wood isn't exactly big. Very desirable and high-end, yes, but not deserving of 12 different estate agents.
And we wonder why estate agents have a bad reputation. When stories like this come out, it's not hard to see why.