The owner of a pub that has “closed its doors forever” believes there were ways the council could have sorted antisocial behaviour issues at a neighbouring carpark.
The Case is Altered in Harrow’s Old Redding announced it was shutting after struggling to attract visitors who, it said, had nowhere to park.
A car park next to the pub, which is managed by Harrow Council, saw its opening hours reduced to daylight hours only – with most recent restrictions forcing it to close at 6pm each evening.
This followed intermittent closures following reports of drug taking, fights and dogging.
Case Is Altered Pub (Credit: Adam Shaw) can be used by all LDRS partners
The pub’s director said these changes had a devastating impact on the business and, with little sign of things changing, it had been left with “no choice” but to close.
He said: “It’s the people of Harrow and beyond who I feel sorry for – the area has lost an iconic pub that has lots of memories and history.
“I’m not political – I’m not Labour, Conservative, whatever – I’m just a businessman who wanted to run his business.
“There are ways we could have sorted this, but it wasn’t to be and, the bottom line is, the borough has lost a great pub.”
The Old Redding car park. Credit: Adam Shaw / LDR
Pub staff insist there have never been regular reports of antisocial behaviour at the car park, which serves the Harrow Viewpoint beauty spot.
In November last year, we reported how the Metropolitan Police’s crime map did not reflect rising crime reports as Harrow Council has suggested.
Staff at the pub added any serious nuisance behaviour that did occur was likely to take place after midnight and suggested a “less drastic” closing time of 11pm, even offering to close the gates themselves.
Harrow Viewpoint. Credit: Adam Shaw / LDR
But Cllr Graham Henson, leader of Harrow Council, said: “We’ve worked closely with the Case Is Altered and offered a number of solutions, including shared security management of the car park, but the pub has been unwilling to take these forward.
“The alternative, which we cannot justify, would be for the Harrow taxpayer to foot the bill to maintain security in a late night car park for the benefit of a single business.”
He added that the carpark was a “hotspot” for crime including assaults, vandalism, drug taking and public sex – stating these occurred from “late afternoon to the early hours of the morning”.
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