‘Don’t shut the last pub on seafront’
PETITION TO STOP BAR CHANGING TO FLATS
Reporter HUNDREDS of people have signed a petition calling for a Whitley Bay bar to be kept as a public house and not be turned into flats.
The 42nd Street pub and the adjacent King George, on the corner of North Parade, are set to close this month.
The managers have announced that the venues are to cease trading on May 19 as the site is being bought by developers who plan to build flats there.
On Facebook they wrote: “It’s with great sadness that we have to announce that 42 and the King George will be closing down. The site has been bought by developers who are going to build flats.
“The staff we have had, old and present have been fantastic and we thank them all for their hard work. A big thanks to all our customers, tbh the majority aren’t customers any more they are just friends, friends who have given us unbelievable support and we feel gutted for them. We gave it our all, and like to think we did our bit in bringing some life back to the Bay.”
The news was met with sadness by hundreds of people who said the pub was a key fixture of Whitley Bay’s nightlife.
Now a petition has been started on North Tyneside Council’s website in a bid to keep the bar as a leisure venue.
It says: ”We would like the council to ensure that the land is not used for more housing development. The pubs on this site are part of the community. They are thriving businesses, employing a dozen people.
“This is the only pub on the seafront that Whitley Bay has left and it’s a brilliant venue. Locals and visitors need this venue. We wish the council would consider that this is an iconic venue and that any planning permission takes into account the need to maintain this venue on the same site.”
A Whitley Bay resident told the Chronicle: “This is a great pub with lovely sea views that is thriving and successful. People have been going there for many years. And it’s shocking that it is going to shut down and going to be redeveloped as residential flats. It should stay as a pub rather than being turned into flats.
“I am not the only person who feels this way. More than 400 people have signed the petition.”
The council says it acknowledges and responds to all petitions, however matters relating to any planning applications would be dealt with through the planning process. Petition statement