Council Call Time on Led Zep Pub

Former Northcote Arms pub in Southall has become crime den

A derelict Southall pub, where Led Zeppelin once played, may be turned into housing.

In the late 60s and early 70s the Northcote Arms was the venue for the Farx Blues Club, where the likes of Free, Stray, Groundhogs, Edgar Broughton played.

in 1969 Gene Vincent played there and in the same year Zeppelin performed before the release of Led Zeppelin 1. (A-Z of Ealing Rock).

In 2010, with its musical hey day long gone the pub was due to be converted into a care home but no work was done and the site became neglected and a haven for crime.

Neighbours have reported fires and hazardous waste being dumped on the site.

Ealing Council secured its first ever premises closure order in November 2012 meaning any unauthorised people there risked being arrested.

The closure order can't remaining in force permanently, so the council is now taking further action - which may lead to a compulsory purchase order (CPO).

The council agreed at its cabinet meeting on Tuesday, 23 July 2013 to begin negotiations to buy the site from the owner.

Councillor Julian Bell, leader of the council, said: “We have given the owner lots of opportunities to develop the site, yet it remains an eyesore. It is simply not acceptable for them to continue to make the lives of the local community a misery. We have been left with no choice left but to take further action.”

The cabinet also agreed in principal that a compulsory purchase order would be sought from the courts if negotiations failed. This however, would need additional cabinet approval.
All cabinet decisions are subject to call-in for a period of five working days from the date of publication of the minutes of the meeting.

26th July 2013