Islington Sports Bar and Grill in Holloway Road

A SPORTS bar in Holloway Road will be used to train healthcare professionals to administer coronavirus tests, the Tribune can reveal.

The Islington Sports Bar and Grill closed its doors and boarded up the windows after the coronavirus lockdown came into force last month.

But rather than letting the space sit empty, co-owner Mick Doherty says he has agreed to allow Healthcare and Transport Services (HATS) to take it over on Monday and start training staff to carry out Covid-19 tests.

Mr Doherty added that the pub could also be used in the coming months as an information drop-in centre or even a Covid-19 testing site.

“We’ve boarded up the building at the moment, in case there is any civil disorder,” he said.

“Rather than let this huge space go to waste, the HATS is looking for places to train the staff for Covid-19 testing.

“Of course, we were all too happy to let them have it. We’re getting our costs covered, but we’re not making any money out of it.

“Hopefully it will be up and running on Monday. There have been conversations about using the pub in the future as a drop-in centre where people can find out information about the virus, and even talk of a testing space. Whatever they need, we’re in the hands of the HATS.”

Mick Doherty: ‘It’s difficult to know who will be left standing when all this is over’

HATS, who its understood are already involved in COVID-19 testing, confirmed the news. The company has a fleet of more than 800 vehicles and supports the NHS, clinical commissioning groups, mental health trusts, local authorities and other public sector bodies, as well as private medical institutions.

Mr Doherty said he was happy that the pub was going to be used, and added that some breweries had offered a credit system where he will be able to exchange full but expired barrels of beer for fresh ones.

“It’s difficult to know who will be left standing when all this is over,” he added. “We’re hopeful that we can ride it out, but we haven’t been open a very long time so we we’re already in the red.

“The summer was going to be a big one for us, with the European Championships, but we’re still hopeful that people will come back as soon as they can.”

Andrew Hoyle, landlord of The Gunners in Blackstock Road, also warned that some pubs would not survive the crisis, adding: “Some just won’t be able to absorb the financial impact of what is happening.

“This is an extremely unusual situation.

“We shut our doors before the lockdown, basically when the Man City game was called off on March 11.

“As soon as we realised this was going to be long-term we cleared all 40 of our beer lines. That’s a lot of beer down the drain. We’re keeping a record and have been advised that any wasted beer will be recompensed. I’m also talking to my insurance people and we’re relying on the Government help with rates and staff.

“We have a lot of casual staff, and if any of them need it we will support them, absolutely.

“The process to access the Government’s funds hasn’t been easy, but the council have been excellent in keeping us up to date with what needs to be done.”