New rail link to close former CAMRA pub of the year

The Bree Louise, which is run by Craig Douglas and his wife Karen, sits next door to London Euston station and is currently turning over £250,000 per year.

However, a major extension of the station, due to begin in 2018 as part of the HS2 development, means a compulsory purchase order (CPO) is almost certain to be imposed on the pub.

Douglas took over the pub eight years ago, and holds the Enterprise lease until 2029.

Despite making a loss for the first four years, the pub is now a popular destination real ale and cider pub with 17 ales and 11 ciders on tap.

Douglas lives on the premises with Karen and their three sons, the two oldest of whom assist in the day-to-day running of the pub. He also runs a second pub, the Duchess of Cambridge, in Chiswick, but told the PMA his family will be “devastated” to leave the Bree Louise.

“We will lose our livelihood, house and home,” said Douglas. “We are active supporters of our local community, a very poor area of south Camden with a lot of Bangladeshi and Indian shops and restaurants, all of which will suffer if this goes ahead.

“The sad thing is that we have had to put some work (on the pub) on hold as there is no point now. We will be utterly devastated.”

Douglas has launched a campaign along with a local working group to oppose HS2 through the pub’s Facebook page.

CAMRA North London spokesman John Cryne said: “It is very sad because it is a pub which has seen a huge turnaround. We are not convinced that knocking 10-15 minutes off a journey from London to Birmingham is sufficient justification for destroying the livelihoods of people in the Euston area, especially when people have spent a lot of time, money and energy building up successful businesses.”