How much longer can Sir Keir Starmer’s local survive under the ever-blundering regime of Sadiq Khan’s City Hall? As every Westminster obsessive knows, Starmer’s favourite pub is The Pineapple in Kentish Town – a site ‘woven into the fabric of the community since it was built in 1868.’ Yet the battle-class boozer is struggling to survive: all thanks to the incompetence of Transport for London, responsibility for which sits with the capital’s Mayor.
Kentish Town station has been shut since June to fix two escalators and carry out ‘wider work’ on the station. But sadly, the effect on local business has proved to be catastrophic. The Lady Hamilton pub, located just a two-minute walk from the station, closed down permanently in August, with owner Paul Davies telling the Camden New Journal that:
There was no real warning and it has just wiped out the trade – and it has hit The Pineapple too. The High Street has been killed: we are not the only ones. We were hoping to soldier on, but we just could not with the Tube closing.
As well as the closure of the Lady Hamilton, managers have also seen sales at The Pineapple – which is five minutes away from the station – suffer from a lack of Underground access. And on the same day Khan pleged to splurge £6 million on renaming the Overground lines, it was announced that Kentish Town station will remain shut for even longer because of TFL delays.
The new target date has been pushed back to September, with local businesses furious. TfL have confirmed to the Camden New Journal that ‘no compensation paid to businesses who had been hit by the tube closure.’ One enraged resident told Mr S:
It took a year to build the Empire State Building, but it’s taking TfL longer to put in some escalators and now we are told it’s being delayed. The local Labour representatives, including Sir Keir have been silent about it meaning Sadiq Khan and TFL are able to get away with it all while our community and local businesses suffer.
Let’s hope, for Sadiq’s sake, there’s still a pub for Sir Keir to enjoy when/if the works are eventually finished…
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