Westminster Council spends over £20,000 a year to keep a pub closed

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Westminster Council spends over £20,000 a year to keep a pub closed

By Westminster Labour ⋅ April 10, 2010 ⋅ Post a comment
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Westminster City Council is spending over £20,000 a year on scaffolding to keep The Balmoral Castle, a derelict public house situated on the Churchill Gardens Estate in Pimlico, closed.

According to information uncovered by Westminster’s Labour Councillors:

“The building has been empty since the lease to Watney Truman Limited expired in 2006. The building is derelict, has structural problems and is being supported by scaffolding at a cost to the Council of £20,400 per annum excluding VAT.”

Councillor Paul Dimoldenberg, Leader of the Labour Group, said: “For the past four years, this pub has been empty and yet Westminster Conservatives have done nothing to repair it or find a new use for the building. The Conservatives have taken the easiest and costliest option of ‘do nothing’ and have let Council Tax Payers pick up the £20,000 a year bill for the Conservatives’ incompetence. In addition, the Council has lost thousands of pounds in rent.”

“Churchill Gardens has been represented by ‘do-nothing’ Conservative Councillors for too long and the derelict and costly state of The Balmoral Castle sums up the Conservative approach to local issues.”

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