London landlord boards up beer garden after being asked to leave his pub

Tony O’Neill was asked to leave the Richmond pub he had run since 2006 by Fuller’s Brewery in November of last year. However the handover has not been, in Fuller’s words, “quick and smooth”.

Formerly of The Plough, East Sheen, Mr. O’Neill’s reaction to losing his job has made headlines before, with his removal of fridges and light fixtures to be re-used at his new pub.

However, his latest retaliation against Fuller’s has further escalated the situation: the pub’s beer garden has been boarded up (obstructing a public footpath) to deny the brewery access to it. Furthermore, the windows have been covered up and the main pub building is supposedly deserted. Mr. O’Neill lives down the road from the pub, but has fought for ownership of The Plough as if it were his own home, including previously offering to buy it for more than a quarter over the asking price.

MyLondon reported that Mr. O’Neill has utilised his history as landlord of The Plough to give him, as a squatter, the right to adverse possession of the land. However, a spokesperson for Richmond Council has declared that if the barricades are not torn down by April 7, they will utilise an Enforcement Notice and remove them.

Mr. O’Neill’s blockade of Fuller’s has divided local opinion, with some suggesting that his stand against the brewery and council is best for the community, as he had turned the pub into a success story over his 15-year tenure. Meanwhile, one source close to The Plough simply suggested that former landlord was living “in a different world”.

Fuller’s have argued that it is mainly a confrontation between Richmond Council and O’Neill, and that they intend to have the pub up and running again in the immediate future.