Christopher Barnes and wife Allyson say rising costs and too few customers has forced them to sell

Published: 8 November 2013
By DAN CARRIER

THE Victoria Pub in Mornington Crescent was given a stay of execution last night (Thursday) as councillors on the Town Hall's planning committee asked for more evidence that it could not be run as a bar.

The pub closed in June after owner Christopher Barnes said it was no longer viable to run the pub as a business. Mr Barnes, who has owned and managed The Victoria for 13 years and lives in a flat upstairs, has asked for permission to convert the pub into seven new homes.

He told the New Journal earlier this year: "Some people want to have a pet local pub they use two or three times a year. Unfortunately we don’t get a government grant as a heritage site. There are reasons why pubs are closing. It is not a result of inept management – we have nearly 50 years’ experience. Costs have rocketed whilst trade is down."

Arguments at last night's planning meeting ranged from whether the pub was viable and whether a first floor room had been used over the years for meetings and parties. The owner's representatives said the upstairs room was not a clear function room and could only be accessed from a staircase behind a bar, and that very few events had been held there.

Not true, retorted Camden Town and Primrose Hill Lib Dem Councillor Chris Naylor, who said the room had a separate, publicly accessible staircase and had been used for meetings by people campaigning against the HS2 rail link.

He added: “It is very clear that various people have used this area for children's parties and HS2 meetings so I was surprised by the assertion from the applicant that it has never been used.”

Councillor Flick Rea added: “I do not think we have sufficient evidence regarding whether it is viable. There is assumption that you do not work hard enough to make a pub popular, you therefore can turn it in to flats.”

A planning officer, who recommended the plans be passed, said they had received 18 objections – compared to over 1,000 letters against a scheme to close near-by Camden Town pub the Golden Lion.

The decision was deferred while the committee sought more information over the viability of the pub and the positioning of the staircase that would allow the upstairs room for functions and meetings.