Portchester landlords given a month to get out as firm sells pub
Time has been called at a pub where the licensees of 15 years have been given just a month to clear out by the company running it.
The Linden Lea Pub in Portchester will be closing down this Saturday as Enterprise Inns has sold the property to a new owner.
Sharon and David James were informed through a short letter that they had to be out of the premises by June 30 or face legal action.
They have been live-in landlords since taking over the pub in 1995 after Mr James, 52, left the navy.
Mrs James, 48, said: 'It's absolutely devastating. I've cried a lot in the last week.
'We weren't that surprised when the letter came, but it was the way it was done, it was the coldness and the rudeness of it.'
Twenty months ago Enterprise switched the couple on to a 'tenancy at will' contract meaning either side could end it with 28 days notice.
The pub giant made a bid to redevelop the pub's plot as five houses and four apartments, but it was rejected by Fareham Borough Council in April 2009. The application was then thrown out on appeal last December.
Mrs James added: 'The people around here were so thrilled when they thought they had beaten Enterprise because the planning application had been thrown out.
'But I think people knew we were on borrowed time. It's just a shame for the people who live around here because the nearest pub is quite a distance.
'Somebody is buying it, but they haven't told us who.'
The couple are holding the closing party on Saturday to give them time to clear the property and sort their future out before the deadline. Mr James has found work doing security for Portsmouth City Council and they have lined up a home in Portsmouth.
Angry regular Ian Edwards, of Lancaster Close, Portchester, said: 'I am particularly angered by the callous and heartless way that Sharon and David - as are we, the pub's regulars - are being treated.
'We're determined that despite the sadness of the occasion Saturday will be a night to remember. We want to ensure Dave and Sharon are given a fitting send off.'
Despite repeated calls no-one from Enterprise Inns was available for comment.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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