A London pub was forced to move its outdoor tables during the record-breaking heatwave summer.
The Lincoln Arms pub in King’s Cross and its landlady, Joyce Whelan, have been caught in a red-tape limbo over its outdoor seating.
She claims the pub, located near the famous railway station, lost up to £40,000 in revenue after sun-seeking punters went elsewhere when the seats had to be removed.
The 61-year-old has been at the helm of the pub for almost two decades, and until this summer, the six outdoor tables have not been an issue, according to her.
But someone made a complaint about them in June, so Joyce had to fill out a pavement licence application, which was rejected by the council.
Camden Council said it refused an application which sought permission to place the tables and chairs outside a neighbouring property rather than directly outside the Lincoln Arms.
Permission could not be given because of concerns about ‘pedestrian access and safety’ as the proposed area included a fire exit for another building, the council said.
After the blow, Joyce removed the tables just as the weather turned scorching during the summer that became Britain’s hottest ever.
This ended up costing Joyce around £4,000 a week as customers went elsewhere, she said.
She said: ‘It is a very small pub, and we only have the doors at the front so it has been absolutely roasting in here.
‘We bought some fans but it is really hot and people don’t want to stand inside. They are all going to places that have seating outside.
‘Hopefully the regulars will come back when the weather changes, but there is no way for us to know.’
She said the pub and its team were left outraged by the mysterious complaint to the council.
‘We were shocked and wanted to know who had done it,’ she said.
To make the situation more complex, the Lincoln Arms sits right at the border between Islington and Camden Councils, with the pavement extending into Camden.
Joyce appealed the Camden decision, but she was told he is likely to be allowed to put up one table.
Instead, she is likely to put up shelves for drinks so people can stand outside.
She insisted that the fire door was never blocked when people sat outside and she was ‘always patrolling making sure everyone was out of the way.’
‘We are annoyed. We just want to be able to speak to somebody and see what we can do to make this work,’ Joyce said.
She continued: ‘I love this pub. Everybody is so nice and it is such a unique place. It is a lovely chilled out area.
‘We have been so quiet because we have no seating outside. They are all sat outside other pubs.
‘They are not teeny boppers that drink in here they are all mature people, so it is not that there is noise or screaming or anything outside.
‘The customers are all very upset. They even wanted to start a petition.’
A Camden Council spokesperson told in a statement: ‘The Council has not refused permission for the Lincoln Arms to use the area directly outside its own premises. The recent pavement licence application sought permission for six tables and 20 chairs to be placed outside a neighbouring property, rather than within the pub’s own frontage. As this proposed area is understood to include a fire exit serving the neighbouring building, the application could not be approved due to concerns about pedestrian access and safety.
‘We remain committed to supporting local businesses and will continue to work with applicants to ensure any use of the public highway is safe, accessible and appropriately authorised.’
The decision is outside Islington Council’s control, as the street is solely within Camden, understands.
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