CAMRA pub crawl of closed pubs highlights London loss

By Emily Sutherland

- Last updated on GMT

The group wants to highlight pub closures in South East London
The group wants to highlight pub closures in South East London

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Dedicated pub supporters undertook an alternative pub crawl of closed pubs last week to highlight the raft of closures in London

Members of the South East London CAMRA branch visited Herne Hill’s the Half Moon, the Crown and Greyhound in Dulwich Village, and the Grove - also in Dulwich.

Pub protection officer Neil Pettigrew told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser​: “We wanted to highlight the fact that three high-profile pubs which are fairly close to each other have been boarded up for over two years. These are just three of the many pubs we’ve lost in south east London and by my prediction we’ve lost 80% of our backstreet boozers. 

half.moon.herne.hill
The Half Moon in happier times
crown.and.greyhound
Dulwich's the Crown and Greyhound

“However successful pubs are, the truth is they are worth more if you convert them into flats. No matter how successful pubs are, they can’t compete with London property prices. Lots of people stopped us when we were outside the pubs and said they'd noticed they had closed and hoped they would reopen soon.”

The capital has been hit by a wave of pub closures in recent months. Celebrated music venue the Troubadour was put on the market earlier this year, and a number of others, including Brixton’s the Canterbury Arms and Nigel Farage’s haunt the Westminster Arms are facing closure.

Canterbury Arms manager Brian Fitzgerald blamed the ‘insatiable appetite of property developers’ for the loss of pubs in the capital.

According to regional statistics released by CAMRA, London and the South East have been hardest hit by pub closures, with an average of 10.2 closing a week. 

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