Flushed with success: abandoned loos approved as cocktail lounge

You’d think granting a change of use for the above Kentish Town Road eyesore – from unviable public toilets into a lounge for the enjoyment of artisanal spirits – would be a no-brainer for any committee with the best interests of their neighbourhood at heart.

But as we know, there can be formidable opposition to regeneration plans when they are not approved of by a vocal few. Therefore it was with understandably jangling nerves that Willy Borrell went to a licensing hearing last night, two years of work on his dream to open a bar called Ladies and Gentlemen hanging in the balance.

Despite the whole event proving to be what he calls “a truly bizarre experience”, he was granted a license, and work can now begin, with a view to the bar opening in late summer.

“A handful of objectors made some fairly outrageous claims, painting a picture of late night Kentish Town as becoming like a war zone,” Will reported, when we gave him a congratulatory call this morning.

“Councillor Jenny Headlam-Wells even went as far as to state that ‘all of Kentish Town is against this bar’, a claim which is clearly rubbish,” he continued. “She has obviously only been listening to select members of one residents’ association and not the wider community, but it should be remembered that with elections coming up, the real community can easily vote for a more progressive candidate.”

The spat also ignited on Twitter, where the mysteriously anonymous @nw5 took a pre-election shot across the bows too.

@Georgia_Gould @jenheadlamwells When considering @LadyAndGentsBar, please remember we elected you, not self-appointed protest groups

— NW5 (@nw5) May 7, 2014

Incidentally, why not contribute to the Your Kentishtowner noticeboard about the forthcoming local elections? We’d love to hear a range of voices join the debate.

Meanwhile, back at the loos, William is chuffed that, despite the hurdles, his project has taken its biggest step forward to date.

“I’m excited at the prospect of the bar now becoming a reality,” he says, with a sigh, “and I look forward to everyone in the neighbourhood enjoying our unique take on cocktails very soon.”

So let us be the first – but certainly not the last – to declare that they’re sure to be anything but bog standard.