'Pub trade hit by BNP meetings'

A Scarborough councillor says a local pub may have closed down because it was being used for meetings by supporters of the British National Party.

Cllr Bll Chatt said the Barrowcliff pub had lost trade because of the meetings.

“A lot of people told me they would not go there because the pub was being used for those type of meetings,” said Cllr Chatt.

“The BNP were using the Barrowcliff before the local elections in May this year. The function room was supposedly packed out with BNP members and they had a big Union Jack hanging up in there. Now the pub has been boarded up and it is going to become more and more of an eyesore. It has already been broken into by vandals.”

Cllr Chatt, who represents the Woodlands Ward, said he heard rumours that the pub site could be used for housing.

“It’s a shame the pub has closed down,” said Cllr Chatt. “We need it to be
reopened. The pub is needed more than ever, particularly since we lost our community centre.”

The Barrowcliff pub is owned by Admiral Taverns. A spokesman said the company was not aware of BNP meetings taking place in the pub. He said that Admiral Taverns had bought the pub off Punch Taverns in May this year.

“The pub is currently closed while we consider the options for its future. However, this is not due to a downturn in sales.”

The couple who previously ran the pub are believed to have taken over a pub in the north-east. Before that the Barrowcliff was run by Mick and Dawn Avison for almost five years. The couple, who now live in a small village in Bulgaria, have contacted the Evening News to wish all their friends and former customers Happy Christmas. The couple’s sons, Michael and Dren, still live in Scarborough.

Scarborough Evening News