Kenny Skelton, right, and fellow Two Brewers regulars fighting to save community pub

VETERAN punters are campaigning to save a community pub where plans for its demolition have dragged on for more than two years.

Nearly 1,000 people have signed a new petition to save the Two Brewers

Two BrewersTwo BrewersTwo BrewersTwo Brewersislinton pub, off Caledonian Road, from plans to replace the much-loved institution with residential flats and a basement bar.

Demolition was first proposed by the pub’s owners, Four Brewers Limited (FBL), in 2018, and the latest attempt to get planning permission – submitted in March 2022 – still remains undecided.

This is the third time FBL have applied for permission to repurpose the building.

Customer Kenny Skelton has been drinking in the Two Brewers for 47 years and is worried by the prospect of it closing.

“This pub is my life,” he said tearfully. “I rely on it.”

Now aged 77, Mr Skelton lives in retirement housing in Roman Way and comes to the Two Brewers almost every day, including for his Christmas dinner.

“When I don’t come in, they come round to check on me,” he added.

“Everybody looks after each other.”

Joanne Scott, pub protection officer of the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) north London branch, said: “The Two Brewers, a well-used, community-focused pub, will be a loss to the area, which attracts the local older generation and offers an important social hub.”

Ms Scott said the proposal could be a “Trojan horse scenario,” adding “there is no certainty the proposed replacement bar will ever open”.

The Two Brewers is next door to a four-storey complex of flats that have sat empty for years.

They were formerly accommodation for staff at neighbouring Pentonville Prison and owned by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).

Plans for the MoJ to lease the flats to Islington Council as affordable housing for families broke down in 2019 and have not resumed.

The proximity of this long-vacant housing makes plans to replace the Two Brewers with flats even more frustrating for its customers.

Pauline, one of the regulars who helped organise the petition, said: “It’s about the principle. They are closing down too many local, affordable pubs.”

FBL took over in 2012 and bought the freehold six years later. It warned that it “used to be a thriving pub” but was no longer financially viable. “If we were in a time machine and went back to 1990, it was one of the greatest boozers in the area,” said the company’s owner Steven Govier two years ago.