Neighbours of a Nottingham pub are delighted with their quieter and tidier life since it was forced to close. The licence of the Horse and Groom, at the junction of Radford Road and North Gate, Basford, was revoked during a special Nottingham City Council licensing panel meeting on August 30, 2022.
This was the result of longstanding policing concerns about crime near to the former Shipstones pub, which local residents said caused significant noise and mess. After more than half a year of the pub being closed, neighbours on North Gate described a noticeable improvement in their lives.
Colin Smith, 62, a delivery worker who has lived on North Gate for seven years, said: "It has definitely improved our lives noticeably. I've never known the street to be this nice and quiet.
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"It is a lot quieter at weekends and will be a lot better as we go into summer. John Pye has cleaned up the area near its building and there's less mess."
Adam Stokes, 31, who lives on North Gate, said: "It is better now that the pub is closed. There was lots of rubbish and noise from the pub and fights were also a problem.
"It is quite quiet now, it is a lot nicer for people living nearby. I heard a rumour that it might be turned into a bed and breakfast, but I haven't seen anything going on there for months."
Despite this rumour, no planning application has been submitted to change the use of the building. The pub looks unlikely to reopen anytime soon, with Nottingham City Council confirming it had received no applications for a new premises licence.
Sonja, who has lived on North Gate for 20 years, previously had to clean the bottles and debris left behind by pubgoers. "Not having to clean up everyday has made living here a lot better," she said.
"I had to put gloves on to tidy the bottles left in the hedges and people used to urinate there. People used to block the drive and then drink and play music outside.
"It was alright for many years, but then it changed at some point. There was always crime outside of the pub - the two bank holidays recently would have been a nightmare with it open."
There was also a takeaway, called Best Of Both Worlds, attached to the pub. When asked if the pub would attempt to reopen, its landlord said there were no current plans to do so and that the pub was "on the backburner".
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