Sport on TV fans sad at White Hart closure
THE White Hart pub closed its doors for the last time on Saturday night.
The pub, which was a popular place for people to watch televised sport, was run by Liberation Group, which confirmed last week that its lease on the site by the Weighbridge had not been renewed.
The building, along with the Food Hall, the former Barbados nightclub and the former Miss Nob shop, look set to become a Morrisons supermarket.
The pub was busy on Saturday, with the Tottenham v Arsenal Premier League match, which was played at Wembley, drawing in islanders.
Among the crowd were football fans Rachel Childs and Jeremy Bell-Connell.
‘I have only been here a few times, but it’s a great place to watch the football,’ Ms Childs said.
Her partner came to watch the World Cup at the pub last year.
‘It’s got a very good atmosphere,’ he said.
‘It is the best place to watch sport and it’s a great location.’
Allen Sarre has been a regular at the pub for 40 years.
‘This is a sad day,’ he said. ‘I don’t know where I will watch football now.’
Another woman, who asked not be named, also lamented the loss of the business.
‘It’s really sad,’ she said. ‘It’s a good lively pub and it’s really like a family here.’
Sandpiper, which operates the Morrisons franchise in the island, confirmed the neighbouring Food Hall would be closing next month for a year to allow the site to be converted into a supermarket.
In the last two years Barbados has closed, Hansen’s Roll Bar has moved premises and now the lease of the White Hart is up. Clothes shop Miss Nob closed in 2015, shortly before the application for the Morrisons branch was submitted.
The conversion application, which affected the three shop units, the nightclub and the pub, was approved in January 2016 and was set to lapse in January 2019, if work had not started.
