North by North West pub in New North Road [Ewan Munro]

THE challenges of running a successful pub have been shared with council planners after operators of a bar in Canonbury said £1.8 million in losses were racked up in little more than a decade.

Officials have been told there were attempts to make the old North By Northwest Bar in New North Road work, but nothing had reversed its financial fortunes.

Agents for the building’s owners argue that they must now be allowed to convert the bar into an alternative business use.

The loss of public houses is always closely watched by local authorities who expect to see marketing evidence that nobody is interested in taking them on.

“The public house has been vacant since March 2023,” documents filed by SM Planning, agents representing the owners, said.

“The pub has been marketed for lease with no interest. The pub has been run by experienced operators at a financial loss for over 50 years”.

The paperwork later says that £1.8 million has been lost in the last eleven years, with a lack of footfall and competition from bars and pubs in Essex Road and Upper Street blamed for the “devastating” financial performance.

The pub had also had noise complaints from neighbours, planners were told.

North By Northwest was a play on the classic adventure film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

It had a long history of different names, however, including Babushka, the North Pole and the King and Bishop.