Camden New Journal - News: Complain to me, pleads publican

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Camden New Journal - by CHARLOTTE CHAMBERS
Published: 11 October 2007

Jeremy Ledlin

Complain to me, pleads publican

A PUBLICAN has pleaded with neighbours to approach him rather than the council if they have a problem with his pub.
Jeremy Ledlin, who owns the Abbey Tavern pub in Kentish Town, said residents would enjoy better results if they took their complaints directly to him.
He said often licensees are not made aware of the issues upsetting neighbours until they get a knock on the door from the council informing them of complaints.
“Residents have been quite upset and gone straight to the council with issues I’m not even aware of,” he said. “If they’d come into the pub, there’s an opportunity for residents to go straight to the licensee.”
Mr Ledlin, who founded the Barfly group of music venues and took over the Abbey in April, made his appeal at a consultation meeting about licensing policies.
He called on neighbours to “sit down together” with him and work out how to deal with concerns. He said people needed to recognise that publicans and bar managers were “human” and sometimes made mistakes, such as leaving a door open.
“We train them to shut doors – but sometimes they forget. They’re human,” he said. “It should be a partnership. Licensees aren’t all rubbish and neither are the residents. We should sit down together. Then if they can’t work it out, they can call the council.
“Problems would be dealt with more efficiently if the council was cut out of the negotiations, and a complaint filed with the Town Hall could take months to be brought to the attention of the publican. Council staff should ask residents to go to the licensee first if they call up with a complaint.”
Former Tory councillor Jonny Bucknell supported Mr Ledlin at the meeting in the British Library on Thursday.
He said: “I think it’s unfair if people go straight to environmental health. They should be encouraged to take their complaint to the pub in the first instance. Publicans feel very frustrated.”
The next licensing policy review meeting takes place at Camden Arts Centre in Arkwright Road next Thursday at 6.30pm.

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