Iconic London community pub forced to close over £50,000 rent arrears

A historical community pub in Greenwich has called final orders after struggling with mounting rent arrears.

The Star of Greenwich in the heart of the Royal Borough announced it is forced to shut after being asked to pay back its rent debt of more than £50,000.

Kirsty Dunlop, one of the three volunteers running the pub, said she was ‘sad’ after the closure on Thursday.

She said: ‘We have been very blessed with the friendships at the pub. But it’s sad, so sad that we have not been able to deliver what we set out to do.’

Volunteers fear this might be the end of the road for the 200-year-old institution which has been used by community groups and as a place to ‘bring people together.’

Last month, the pub’s landlord, the Greenwich Hospital, asked for the remaining rent arrears to be paid back by mid-November following months of granting the pub extensions.

But the extensions had been made based on the agreement that the pub would secure funding to make it viable going forward.

Greenwich Hospital, which is not a medical institution, is an independent charity founded under the royal charter to support naval personnel and their families under the oversight of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), according to BBC News.

Kirsty, Lisa Donohoe and James Gadsby Peet took over and relaunched the pub as a not-for-profit cooperative in 2023 after a closure under the previous operator.

However, despite their best efforts and ‘hard work’ to keep the pub open, the volunteers failed to find additional funding despite applications to community funds.

She explained how the pub was used when it wasn’t serving thirsty customers: ‘When we’re not open day to day, someone runs a club for children, a language course and a refugee cafe. It has so much going on – it’s a building used by so many people.’

Kirsty explained that they had agreed to pay half of the rent each month on the basis that they would secure funding, including from the government’s community ownership fund and even fundraising to buy the building down the line.

The community ownership fund initiative by the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is designed for groups to take ownership of community assets at risk of closure.

Kirsty said they had not heard back on their application which was submitted before the general election this summer.

A spokesperson for MHCLG said it recognised that ‘uncertainty’ is challenging for groups trying to save ‘community assets’ and that it is ‘carefully considering all available options and will confirm plans in due course.’

Kirsty said there is ‘no animosity’ with the Greenwich Hospital and she said she ‘always knew we have to pay it back.’

‘When we first moved in the rent was such a high amount, we thought we would be able to pay it.

‘We were able to pay it half and we tried to make renovations to make the pub financially more sustainable.

‘We put in so much time, it’s very very sad that we cannot come into some kind of arrangement. But we understand they are a business as well and they have overheads.’

If the Star goes into insolvency, it might mean ‘no one gets anything out’ and ‘no one wants to go down that route.’

She said they were eager to work with anyone, but they could also not continue in an agreement that was ‘not viable.’

The loss would be felt through generations and different parts of the community, she explained.

‘We have people who have been coming there for 70 years – grandparents, parents and children.

‘It’s generational and such a beautiful sense of community. It will have a huge impact on people.’

Holding onto hope

But she told Metro the fight to save the pub is not yet over and she’s got ‘nothing but hope.’

Now the Star has launched its Crowdfunding campaign to raise money and, by Monday midday, it had raised almost £6,000.

‘When you work so hard to deliver it’s hard to ask people for money, but I don’t see any other way,’ she said.

Greenwich residents have been ‘so helpful, and we are so grateful’ after the community rallied around the pub, Kirsty said.

‘We have lots of people advising and helping, but no one can plug £50,000,’ she added.

One fan wrote on social media after the closure announcement: ‘So sorry for you Kirsty you all literally put your heart and soul into the Star.’

Another one said the pub is ‘somewhere I’ve become very fond of,’ adding that it is ‘such an asset to the community.’

Metro approached the MoD and Greenwich Hospital for a comment.

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