Harry Smith, David Lonsdale and Fionnuala Wylie outside The Sekforde pub in Clerkenwell

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THE owner of a pub which has been serving pints for more than 150 years says it is now under threat of closure after being presented with a host of new licensing conditions by Islington Council.

Owners of The Sekforde in Clerkenwell, say that the stringent measures which would ban drinking while standing up outside and limit seating to only 20 people are tantamount to a revoking of their licence.

“Islington Council knows perfectly well that we would not survive if we were not allowed have people standing outside,” said owner David Lonsdale.

“It’s true that if you come to this pub on a summer’s evening you can have as many as 70, 80, 90 standing outside with a pint glass. And I think to myself why not? That’s lovely, that is a lovely London scene.”

Neighbours have made a series of noise complaints in recent years, meaning this is now the second licensing review that The Sekforde has faced.

But Mr Lonsdale said that neighbours who have a problem with the noise should “move somewhere else”.

He added: “I don’t think you should be forced to move, but if you choose to first of all buy a house next to a pub, and then you choose – when your house is worth £3million – to stay living next to a pub, that’s a choice”.

Dr Fionnuala Wylie, who has been living in Sekforde Street since 1989 and is a regular at the pub, agreed with Mr Lonsdale.

She said: “I’ve seen this in other areas of London, and I hate the arrogance of people who move into a street and then want to try and change it into what they would like it to be, when everybody else in the street has been perfectly happy prior to that.”

Some residents argue that The Sekforde is regularly in breach of its licensing conditions which currently stipulate that a maximum of 20 people can stand outside, and say that they do not want to see it closed, just managed better as to be less disruptive.

But Harry Smith, who runs the pub, said that staff get complaints even when they have just a handful of people outside, who neighbours claim are “talking too loudly”.

He said: “That’s the main point which Islington Council don’t understand, which is that if your objective is to stop the complaints, you’re not going to do it unless you close this place down.”

Mr Smith added that closing the pub would be “pretty devastating”.

He told the Tribune: “It’s a weird thing where, because of the type of job that it is, and because I’ve been doing it so long, it becomes your identity. I’d be so devastated. Ever since they gave us this licence review and handed me this notice, I’ve got this tightness in my chest of the worry of what’s going to happen and what I’m going to do with my life.”

Mr Lonsdale added: “That’s the real cruelty of these neighbours and Islington Council – they seem to not care about people’s livelihoods. I’m all right. I would still have a very happy life. I’ve got two other pubs. I’ve got my practice at the bar. I will be fine. But Harry and all his staff won’t be, they’ll lose everything.”

An Islington Council spokersperson said: “Islington Council, like any other licensing authority, has a legal duty to ensure all licensed premises adhere to the conditions of their licence. Licences are underpinned by four licensing objectives: preventing crime and disorder, preventing public nuisance, ensuring public safety and protecting children from harm. The council aims to balance the interests of businesses with those of residents who may be affected by the activities of those businesses, and works with licensed premises to find solutions to issues that might arise.

“In the case of the Sekforde, the application for review has been made because the licence holder has not ensured the prevention of public nuisance, one of the four licensing objectives.”