The Railway Hotel is on Historic England’s at-risk register after being left derelict for 17 years, reports Simon Allin, Local Democracy Reporter

The Railway Hotel in 2020 (credit Google)

A “landmark” Grade 2-listed pub that has fallen into disrepair could be bought and preserved by Barnet Council.

Councillors agreed in principle to issue a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for The Railway Hotel in Station Road, Edgware, as part of an extensive redevelopment of the town centre.

It comes after the council concluded that the building was “in severe danger of irreparable harm” – and owner Milegate Limited did not complete all the repairs set out in notices served by the town hall last year.

The council’s housing and growth committee agreed in principle to use a CPO – a power that allows public bodies to buy land without the owner’s consent – if private negotiations fail.

Speaking after the meeting, committee chair Ross Houston said: “The Railway Hotel is a landmark in the town centre of Edgware. We’re proposing the CPO so that it can be preserved and help add to one of Barnet’s wonderful and historic town centres.

“We care for people, our places and the planet, and Barnet’s town centres are at the core of our places. We want to champion their diversity, creativity, histories and identities at the same time as making them feel safer for businesses, residents and visitors.”

Built in 1931, The Railway Hotel is described by Historic England as “among the best examples of a picturesque, historicist road-house in the country”.

Since closing in 2006, the pub has suffered repeated vandalism and been damaged by fires. In 2017, it was listed for auction with a guide price of £2million. Now derelict, the building has been placed on Historic England’s at-risk register.

Plans have been drawn up by Barnet and Harrow councils to redevelop a range of sites in Edgware town centre, and a planning framework for the area published in 2021 set out an aim to restore The Railway and bring it back into “suitable use”.

Mark Amies, a local author who has been campaigning to save The Railway Hotel, described it as a “fantastic building” that is “loved by a lot of people”, but pub groups had not shown any interest in it.

He added that the building must be made safe and secure, and there needed to be a public consultation on its future that involves recorded meetings and is not “web-based”.

Mark said he was against handing it over to a private developer, and that he thought it would be a good idea for part of the building to be turned into a museum dedicated to the whole of Barnet if it is owned by the council.

He added: “The building needs to be used for something, and it should be more than the usual corporate stuff.”

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