The Royal Oak pub in St John’s Way

PROPERTY experts have suggested a pub on an Archway estate could be demolished after the building was put up for sale at auction.

The Royak Oak, which was established on the Elthorne Estate in the 1980s, is now vacant and will go under the hammer with a suggested starting bid of £1.2million.

It is not listed as a building of architectural importance, a fact which will be noted by interested developers.

The building’s current owner, an investment firm in Canary Wharf, is using the MyAuction website for a two-day sale starting on May 17 – during which bids can be submitted online.

The auction’s marketing team, however, suggests that any new buyer may not want to use the building as a bar.

“It is our opinion that the property lends itself to future development potential whether that be conversion of the existing building, change of use from commercial to residential or demolition to erect new build apartments,” the sales blurb said.

“Buyers should make their own enquiries into the suitability and viability of such developments with the local authority’s planning department.”

The bar in St John’s Way had previously been owned by the Stonegate pub company which announced it was selling 1,000 pubs across the UK in February.

Councillors have previously talked of its importance as a “community hub” in the Archway area and lamented its closure.

The same auction is set to see the popular gastropub The Baring change hands.

Opening bids will start at £1.3million for a bar which describes itself as a “neighbour­hood pub in the heart of N1” but is also rated in the Michelin guide and appears in the top 50 gastropubs in the UK in several lists.