News

Committee to rule on Aldershot pub reopening

By Amy Taylor
January 21, 2013

OBJECTIONS have been made to an application to re-open what was formerly the Albion pub in Waterloo Road.

The Aldershot pub, which closed last summer, has applied to re-open, provoking dismay from residents of the street, who say their peace will be disturbed again.

A dozen objections have been submitted to Rushmoor Borough Council and, as a result, a licensing committee meeting will be held to discuss the application.

Representation will be heard at the council offices in Farnborough at 10am on Tuesday, January 22 ahead of a decision on whether the applicant, Kishor Gurung, will be allowed to use the building as a pub.

Opening hours are requested as 11am to 11pm every day except Sunday, when it would close at 10pm, with extended hours on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and other public holidays until 1am.

Many neighbours, some of who have lived in the road for decades, say the Albion pub directly led to increased vandalism and damage to cars, as well as violence and noise from revellers leaving late.

Some referred to the tranquillity they had experienced since the Albion closed its doors, asking that Rushmoor officers would allow them to continue enjoying this peace and quiet by refusing the application.

One letter to the council, from neighbours living opposite the pub, said: “This summer we have been able to have our windows open during the evening without having any noise or disturbances from the pub. We have had so many broken nights’ sleep throughout the previous summer it has been unbelievable and some occasion we haven’t been able to hear our television.”

Quality of life since the Albion’s demise, neighbours said, had improved 100%, with parking issues easing and Waterloo Road becoming a quiet residential street.

One man said he didn’t want to go back to hiding his children’s faces from the living room windows in case they saw ‘something else undesirable’.

Rubbish, public urination and people wandering into neighbours’ front gardens while intoxicated were also listed as reasons against the application, as well as the noise from music inside the pub, which some claimed would last until the early hours of the morning, car engines and taxis arriving.

The application, which confirms that a ‘zero tolerance’ attitude towards drugs will be in place, does not require a change of licence, would not ordinarily require a committee meeting, but the number of representations referring to public nuisance and crime and disorder mean that they have been taken as relevant to the licencing conditions.

Of the 12 received, the council considers 11 to be relevant and will be considered at the meeting next week.

Despite the long history of a pub in Waterloo Road, neighbours suggest that its nature has changed over the last few years, attracting a younger clientele. It is just one of many pubs within a mile radius.

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Most recent user comments 12 of 12

Thank you for all your interesting comments.

Here is the story following this week's committee meeting:

http://www.gethampshire.co.uk/news/s/2127704_the_albion_gets_licence__but_with_conditions

Jennifer Maxfield, Guildford
24/01/2013 at 09:54

Is there any update on this story yet Get Hampshire? I tried to look on the Rushmoor website but the application says it has been either removed or restricted from public view.

FemaleReader
24/01/2013 at 09:17

ps my spelling seems to be awful!

Hippo
23/01/2013 at 15:54

Fr...I do actually understand all your points and in some ways sympathise with what you are saying. But this WAS a community pub and shouldnt be judged on the last poor landlord. Take away these pubs and they become faceless communities...mind you thts probably what the faceless nimbys probably want. They are probably boasting about how the value of their properties have gone up since its closure...no doubt theyll move and want the pub closed at whereever they move to next. Lets hope they put a youth club there instead...Gawd watch em moan then!

@ Mai. Bit harsh on ALL youngsters! Still have the majority are good people. There were bad'ens when i was growing up and they are always the ones you notice. Talk of which, one reasons they are all getting drunk is that small pubs in their communities are closing and they are being forced to drink in the swill halls in the town.....where the whole market is based on getting them drunkk. Aldershot is an amazing place...the Coucillors had a chance by allowing a wergersponns to open but voted against it!!! preferring Yates and the Goose/Geaorge plus the 7 bookies they voted in on Victoria Road. But hey, lets blame the youngsters...its easier. NOT IN MY BACK YARD!!!

Hippo
23/01/2013 at 15:53

@ Hippo You forget one thing todays youngsters have little or no respect for themselves and absolutely no consideration for others when it comes to drink, community means nothing to them and I say youngsters for it's mainly them and some of those die hards approaching 30 because by then it appears most over that age have come to their senses and begrudge paying the prices out of town pubs charge. In general pubs belong in yesteryear in a time past when people went out to socialise and maybe getting drunk was as a consequence of that, nowadays these young people actually go out to get hammered just for the sake of it and for bragging rights and with that attitude towards drinking sadly many pubs no longer belong in communities but as far away from them as possible.

mai
22/01/2013 at 18:48

Yes it was there when I moved in but under a previous landlord, and as has already been mentioned the nature of the customers has changed in that time in an effort to attract customers to an industry that is struggling. I didn't mention the pubs that had already closed as the point was about the number that are open, and trying to stay that way, withing a mile radius. Of course we face the issues when Aldershot play at home and Manor Park have the fireworks, however the fair doesn't seem to make any difference, but we suck it up and live with it. Afterall none of those are daily events and no-one said anything about absolute peace.

FemaleReader
22/01/2013 at 16:51

But was the Pub there when you moved in FR? I understand about the changing trade...the last guy didnt have a clue...thats why he closed! On your list of pubs you missed the ones that have shut...The Wheelrights, Princess of Wales, Prince of Wales, Prince Albert and Swan (North Lane)...what did you do then? I presume you face the issues when Alderhot Town play at home or Bonfire night at Manor park or the Fair....I guess you want these closed as well? i live on North Lane and put up with Chambers trucks all day, shoppers using the takeaways etc etc Thats Life Im afarid. Ill move to the Countryside if i want absolute peace. Small pubs and shops are the lifebloods of communities. Do you want your youngsters flocking to the town for cheap shots in the beer halls or the foam parties at Yates? Its a little pub thyat has been in the community a lot longer than most of the residents...as for the sneaky traffic warden...he was probably responsible for more drink driving...well done!

Hippo
22/01/2013 at 16:21

It's not an exaggeration and as the article says the nature of drinkers has changed over the years as they have tried to attract more customers with live music, free sport on TV and all day opening/drinking hours etc. There are at least 6 other pubs withing a mile radius - The Crimea, The Beehive, Golden Lion, Red Lion, Royal Staff and La Fontaine. Most of the houses in Waterloo Road were built in Victorian times with no driveway or garage so the residents have to park on the street. It used to be near impossible to park particularly after 4pm on a Friday when both Waterloo and Reeves Road were already full of cars and vans owned by the early-finish-Friday drinkers. Just ask the traffic warden who used to visit almost every Saturday and Sunday morning to catch those that had been left there - btw he doesn't bother coming anymore!

FemaleReader
22/01/2013 at 15:40

Well perhaps that's my mistake about the number of pubs around, but I've just based that on what the article says: "It is just one of many pubs within a mile radius."

Just because the pub was here when they moved doesn't mean the residents aren't allowed to voice the complaints if someone wants to reopen it.

BlisteringBarnacles! , Sheffield / Farnborough
22/01/2013 at 15:26

The problem is there AREN'T plenty of watering holes left. The Howarth/Camra article lists how many have gone by the wayside in the last couple of years. Perhaps a probation period of reopening would be a good start.

Think of the publicity around job losses at Jessops, HMV, Blockbuster and Comet in the last month. Nothing has been said about job losses resulting from pub closures - not just landlords, cleaners and barmaids but also those in the supply chain.

Dan B
21/01/2013 at 19:07

Errr this has been a quiet back street pub for years. They bought their houses knowing the pub was there. Wheres all their evidence? i must have missed all the aggro and public urination in the 25 years I drank their. As for hiding their young faces from the windows...why are they not in bed sleeping at that time of night. It is soundproofed and attracts few cars as its a back street local. As for many other watering holes Mr BB suggests...thatll be the beer halls the Goose/George and Yates...no thanks. My only concern is whether this guy who shut the Swan in North Lane and is one of the "mystery" developers of the old Railway Tavern (closed and having houses built on it!)

Hippo
21/01/2013 at 18:51

I'm not normally one to support NIMBY's, but as long as these people aren't exaggerating how bad it was, such a strong argument against the pub re-opening should by rights prevent it from doing so. Drinkers can go elsewhere, as there is no shortage of local watering holes.