South London boozer slated for closure - but community comes together for final standoff

A beloved South London pub and event space faces threat of closure after a major pub group acquired the freehold. The owner of Queen of the South says that the pub group is “steamrolling” communities but the South London community quickly mobilised to try and ‘Save Our Queen’.

The uproar started on Monday, July 28, when The Queen of the South’s owner Clement Ogbonnaya shared news about the potential closure in an Instagram video. Clement is a key figure in the South London community as thefounder of The Village People pub group, which encompasses both Queen of the South in Tulse Hill and its iconic sister space, Prince of Peckham.

Beyond functioning as a pub, Queen of the South is a co-working space and known for hosting a range of community and youth events. The Queen also regularly collaborates with local artists, designers, and musicians. News about The Queen comes just after an abandoned UK Butlin's site is now seaside town's 'hell hole' hotel.

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In his call to action video, Clement said he had been given a “crazy deadline” to buy the freehold from a then unnamed pub group. He expressed “embarrassment” for having to ask for help but presented an opportunity for individuals to invest in the space to raise funds. “This is an opportunity in our community. We can own our own boozer. We can own bricks and mortar for infinity," he said.

In a sit down with The Mirror, Clement said the video was more “therapeutic” but that the overwhelming community response was “incredibly humbling”. Messages offering legal advice, DMs to invest in the space, and even demands for him to name the offending pub group ratcheted up. He says the video received over 300,000 views in the space of a week.

Even those not able to invest were bombarding him with questions about how they could help, prompting Queen of the South to launch a Crowdfunder campaign.

However, after a week of rallying, on August 6, Clement shared that their final offer to the pub corporation was rejected. Fresh out of the meeting, Clement revealed via Instagram that Young’s Pub was the group that bought the freehold.

A spokesperson for Young’s told The Mirror: “We recognise the significance of the Queen of the South pub in Tulse Hill as an important part of the local community and have been engaging with Clement Ogbonnaya to reach an agreement that will ensure its continued operation under the current management.

“We remain in exclusive negotiations with Clement regarding the freehold of the pub and have not had any conversations with any other potential bidders regarding the site.” The group said it was “always our intention” that the pub remain independent.

Clement is sceptical to say the least. “If they’re so committed, they wouldn’t be having this conversation with me right now.”

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He questions not only what will become of the Queen —”some flats” or “a Tesco”— but who Young’s seeks to cater to. “Who are you serving?” he asks in response to Young’s statement. “Are you serving Tulse Hill or are you serving Dulwich? Are you serving Tulse Hill or are you serving Chelsea?” A reference to Young’s polished portfolio of pubs catering to more affluent clientele.

“If pub companies like that claim to be committed to’ community’ then maybe they should do the community work here and see what happens,” Clement says.

He says the deadline to give a final response of whether or not he will buy the freehold was August 6. However, a final verdict on Clement’s last offer will arrive on Monday, August 11. He says they are “still on the verge” of losing The Queen but that he’s more at peace with that possibility now.

“Not because I don’t stand to lose so much money. Not because all of the hard work we’ve put into this building doesn’t mean anything. It’s because I think this is the beginning of The Village People. It’s the beginning of actually owning equity.”

Even going into his last meeting, Clement says the community fuelled him. “It was the first time I met with [Young’s] that I didn’t shrink. I went into that meeting not feeling small. And that’s purely because of the outcries—the backing and the support I received.”

“I didn’t go in as Clem, I went in as a community,” he says.

If this is the end for Queen of the South, Clement says he’ll throw a fittingly “massive” farewell. Five days of massive parties, he promises. He will also send back all the money the group received through the Crowdfunder.

That said, the Queen of the South is still up and running right now and the Prince of Peckham is alive and thriving. Clement also recently opened the Setlist bar in collaboration with Somerset House. The crown is tilted, but won’t easily be toppled.

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