Closed New Cross boozer wants new licence and quiet(er) life

By Robert Firth, Local Democracy Reporter

A New Cross pub closed since Christmas 2023 could reopen with reduced hours.

The Flower of Kent on Lewisham Way would open until midnight on weekends instead of 2am under conditions of an application submitted to the local council.

The boozer has been closed since December last year when its owner, the Wellington Pub Company, seized the property from the previous operator. The firm, owned by the billionaire Reuben brothers, has applied for a new alcohol licence for the pub because the ex-manager surrendered the former one.

Richard Taylor, representing the Wellington Pub Company, told a Lewisham council licensing meeting on Thursday that the reduced operating hours responded to locals’ concerns about noise nuisance.

He said: “We’re simply asking for the licence back but with more stringent conditions than it had previously and significantly shorter hours at weekends. Those are the hours that concern the residents.

“What we don’t want is loud music, live music. What we don’t want is DJs, anything like that. We want to restore this pub back to the community with normal hours.”

Pub advocates the Campaign for Real Ale describe the Flower of Kent as ‘a friendly local pub used predominantly by the West Indian community.’ The pub’s listing on the campaign group’s website boasts of its live music and DJ offering and says pool and dominoes are popular.

Wellington Pub Company has yet to find a new operator for the pub but Mr Taylor told the committee that the firm would make sure that whoever took it over was ‘thoroughly professional’. He added that there was a chance the establishment could be operated as a restaurant if that proved to be a better business option.

Brothers David and Simon Reuben, who own the Wellington Pub Company, were named the third richest family in the UK in the 2024 Sunday Times Rich List. The siblings, who own Millbank Tower in Westminster, are worth £24.977 billion.

A licensing committee made up of Cllr Yemisi Anifowose, Cllr Billy Harding, Cllr Rachel Onikosi, Cllr David Walker, and Cllr Natasha Burgess heard the application. Their decision will be released at a later date.

Pictured top: The Flower of Kent (Picture: Google Street View)