How to save a pub today

Keeping the Sekforde open

Back in July, we launched this project in a pub in Clerkenwell. Dozens of people squeezed into an upstairs room to hear about it on one of the hottest days of the year, and plenty hung around afterwards enjoying the evening sun outside. London’s a lot colder now, and patrons are more likely to be inside enjoying a drink and a meal, but soon they may not be able to at all at that particular pub.

The Sekforde’s licensing is under review by Islington Council, because of noise complaints from a small number of local residents. The review could roll back their licensing for outside space, reducing the capacity the pub has to serve people.

Across London, pubs are struggling. Higher rents, prices, and taxes are all putting pressure on their cost base, and customers are already paying much more for a pint than they used to. With fewer commuters into London, and more working from home, inner London pubs are particularly under pressure. Across the country, fifty pubs shut every month in the first half of 2024.

With pubs operating on very thin margins, more licensing restrictions are tantamount to closure for many, by reducing the amount of money they can bring in on the busiest days even more. The Sekforde’s manager told the London Beer City newsletter, that “if these changes are implemented, we won’t be able to operate as a pub”.

The problem is that councils like Islington care more about the views of a small minority of vocal residents, over the views of many people who commute into them to enjoy the area. But Central London isn’t just for residents, it’s for the rest of us as well. For all the benefits you get living in the centre of London – access to amazing parks, museums, shops, food and drink, the price is putting up with other people enjoying them as well.

The Sekforde has been a pub since 1829. Islington Council will decide the pub’s future on the 7th of January. For the Sekforde, it’s a fight for survival, but it’s also part of a bigger battle for the rest of us who want the city to be vibrant and bustling.

We promoted the campaign to keep it open in our last post as well, but want to make a real push today. Please, email licensing@islington.gov.uk saying you oppose the changes to The Sekforde’s licensing before the deadline today. And if you live in Islington, include your postcode, and copy in your local councillor (if you don’t know who they are, you can find out here by putting in your address).