A petition has been launched calling for the reopening of the pioneering gay pub The Queen’s Head in Chelsea .
The popular boozer in Tryon Street shut at the beginning of September , leaving regulars distraught and claiming "the heart of their community was being ripped out".
They have now started the petition, which was launched on September 28.
The pub has been popular with the LGBT+ community since the 1960s, but is also a firm favourite with the local community, shoppers and local workers.
Regulars gave the pub a musical send-off (see video above) before it closed on September 7.
Among those who lamented its passing and supporting plans to reopen it is Downtown singer Petula Clark.
Refurbishment work is now being carried out on flats above the pub, with the leaseholder already promising a pub will reopen on the site.
But Dorinda Montgomery, who is helping lead the campaign to reopen the pub , known as The Old Lady of Tryon Street, previously said: “We don’t need another over-priced bar and restaurant. I live on the Sutton Estate and this pub was serving my community and we don’t think a new pub would serve our community.”
The petition reads: “We call upon the new owners of the Queens Head Chelsea to reopen the venue as soon as possible, and return it to its traditional historic use - of a traditional pub offering reasonably priced food and beer, an LGBTQI cabaret and performance venue, pub, meeting place and safe space for all walks of life and not a restaurant with a tiny bar attached.”
A spokesman for the freeholder had said the pub was closing after years of under-performance but added: “Although the Queen’s Head is due to close shortly, the owner of the freehold is fully committed to retaining a public house on the site.
“The freeholder is committed to working closely with residents, the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea and other interested parties in order to create an enhanced offer which will appeal to all sections of the local community and ensure the continuation of a pub on the site.”
The petition can be viewed at www.change.org/p/the-owners-of-the-pub-re-open-queens-head-chelsea
