The Islington Folk Club at the Brewhouse

A BAR company insists it must be allowed to ditch its function room and replace it with a more profitable use.

Islington Council has already told the Brewhouse and Kitchen at Highbury Corner once that it believes a switch to accommodation would be harmful to its wider value as a pub.

Planners rejected a bid for the change of use earlier this year, but the company has returned with a second go, insisting that new guest rooms were important to support the business.

The determination to make the change could spell bad news for a comedy club and the Islington Folk Club which uses the space upstairs each week.

The musicians have performed upstairs at the bar in Corsica Street since 2021 with a dedicated local following, but organisers have lamented how hard it is to find a place to play.

Treasurer Nick Moran told the Tribune in January when the first application emerged: “There is this thing called the curse of Islington Folk Club – all three venues we have been in this century aren’t pubs any more. Most of the pub chains I’ve talked to say they see very little value in sustainable local community business.

“They just see the numbers, they don’t see it as important to have the community coming in or having regulars or anything.”

The Brewhouse chain has more than 20 branches in the UK, including one in Angel.

Planning agents for the company have provided the Town Hall with a long statement arguing that the creation of guest rooms should not be considered a conflict with the pub.

Performer Clementine Lovell

“Guests could dine at the pub (and indeed, it is hoped that they would do so) for brunch, lunch, and/or dinner,” it said.

“Therefore, it is not unreasonable to suggest that the proposed guest accommodation could be deemed ancillary to the existing pub use, and as such, would not result in the loss of pub floorspace.

“It would enable a struggling pub to diversify, providing increased revenue via two streams, which would generate substantially more income and profit for the pub than the existing function room and office.”

It added: “the operational floorspace to be converted makes very limited contribution to the economy of the borough, particularly the nighttime economy, given that the revenue associated with venue hire is negligible and the sales from food and drink are modest.

Council planners are currently reviewing the proposals and any comments from the public, ahead of a decision in the coming weeks.