Renowned jazz pub The Junction forced to shut down

A pub renowned for platforming international jazz talents is being forced to close.

The Junction, in Coldharbour Lane, Loughborough Junction, has announced it will close its doors on September 1 after the landlords confirmed they would not renew the lease.

The owners of The Junction have said the decision is a “gut-punch” after seven years of running the venue.

One of the owners, Paul Canton, who lives in Vicarage Grove, Camberwell, said the decision had come “completely out of the blue”.

“I just don’t understand it,” he said. “We’ve been making profit, we’ve done so much work to this place outside of the lease. It doesn’t make sense. I didn’t put my clothes on for two days when I got the email, I could barely leave the house.”

“The lease was up later this year but the landlords have not given a reason. The agent managing the property just told me ‘you’ve got to go’. It’s really pissed me off.”

The property is owned by an offshore property company based in the Isle of Man called Manlon Properties.

Mr Canton said he did not think a pub would exist there anymore but could not say what would happen.

The pub had earned itself a reputation as a venue for high-profile jazz players who had also played world-famous venues like Ronnie Scott’s.

“We spend between £400-700 a week on musicians. We’re both musicians and we run as somewhere for musicians to play. We take very little profit ourselves. We do it out of love.

“It’s incredible to get that quality of musician who do it out of love. We get the top quality players, especially after Covid. We get players from Iceland, America, Germany. To lose it is such a gut punch, a betrayal.”

A petition started by Lambeth councillor Jim Dickson has asked the landlords not to shut down The Junction and has reached nearly 500 signatures.

Cllr Dickson said: “The closure will rob our area of a musical oasis in a neighbourhood where there are many fewer pubs and venues than 20 years ago.

“The Junction has made SE5 culturally richer and a magnet for jazz fans from across South London and beyond.

“We have only a short period of time to save a great venue and it’s vital to let the absentee landlords know that they need to think again.”

The owners are hoping to find a new venue in the area if the cannot stay and will be hosting fundraising events to try and raise cash to move.

Manlon Properties was unavailable for comment.

Pictured top: The Junction pub in Coldharbour Lane, Loughborough Junction (Picture: Paul Canton)