A pub set up to be affordable has been forced to call its last orders after its landlord ordered them to pay £50k in rent arrears - within weeks.
Kirsty Dunlop, 45, took over The Star of Greenwich in south London with two friends last spring and together the team transformed it into an affordable watering hole.
But their landlord, Greenwich Hospital - which operates independently but is overseen by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) - recently demanded longstanding rent arrears to be paid in full.
Ms Dunlop said she and her business partners are unable to pay the money, amounting to around £50,000, and have therefore been forced to temporarily shut the pub - which has been quenching the thirst of locals for over 200 years - whilst they seek funding.
A fundraiser to pay the arrears and an application for funding from the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) have since been made.
But the owners fear that without such an intervention, the pub will be forced to close for good.
"We've had to stop everything while we think about what's going on," Ms Dunlop said.
"We've set up a crowdfunding page but Greenwich Hospital wants £50,000 by Wednesday.
"We always knew we'd have to pay the money, but they have asked for it within two weeks and that's not something we can do.
"We take no money from running the pub - everything goes back into it.
"We were paying half rent under an agreement [with Greenwich Hospital], but they said it had come to an end and we have to pay them within two weeks."
Greenwich Hospital is a charity supporting ex-members of the Royal Navy and their families which operates independently but under the oversight of the MoD.
Ms Dunlop, alongside business partners Lisa Donohoe and James Gadsby Peet, fundraised to reopen the Star of Greenwich as a non-profit cooperative in 2023 after its previous owners had to shut the pub down.
Since their takeover in April last year, the boozer has been used as a venue for language and conversation classes, 'stay and play' sessions for children and their parents and pop-up kitchens.
Ms Dunlop, originally from Ayrshire in southwest Scotland, said she and her business partners took on the venue as 'three people who decided to save their local pub'.
A fundraiser has so far raised over £6,000, though it's hoped their MHCLG funding application will be successful, enabling them to purchase the site.
"We don't particularly want to ask people to pay for our rent, but we want to keep the pub going," Ms Dunlop, who has lived in Greenwich for 15 years of her two decades in London, said.
"The community ownership fund would be amazing - we would buy the pub ourselves.
"The building is over 200 years old. It's an historic pub. We have worked so hard to create this community space.
"We just want to keep going. We have worked so hard for this.
"We know we have to pay the money, but just give us a chance.
"The Star closing would have a huge impact on our local area.
"The best way to describe it is a generational impact: parents, children and grandparents all come into the pub to use our facilities.
"The community won't have access to an affordable pub if we close. It's really great for parents in the area. We are a very affordable pub.
"A pub isn't just about drinking; it's about inclusivity and getting to know your local community.
"It would be really sad if we closed."
Ms Dunlop added that though their lease mentioned the Secretary of State for Defence - currently Labour MP John Healey - as a party, she and her colleagues had not yet contacted them directly.
The rent Greenwich Hospital wanted to charge them was not viable on the revenue currently returned by the pub, she explained.
Ms Dunlop and her business partners had agreed to pay half their rent each month on the basis of securing future funding to make the pub a viable business.
It's hoped the MHCLG funding could pay off the arrears and be used to begin making changes to the building.
The repayment plan with Greenwich Hospital was extended past the January 2024 deadline, but the landlord is now demanding the rent debt to be paid in full as funding to secure the pub's future is still yet to be found.
The MoD were approached but declined to make a comment.
A spokesperson for the MHCLG said: "We recognise uncertainty is challenging for groups seeking to save vital community assets; the government is carefully considering all available options and will confirm plans in due course.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel