A pub boycotted over its former owner’s sex trafficking conviction is now being developed with a view to turn it into flats.
The Bugle in St Martin’s Road began to be shunned by most locals in 2017 after then-owner Kenneth McGrath was jailed for coercing a vulnerable Brighton teen into sex on his yacht in Majorca.
McGrath, who also owned the Pussycat Club, sold the pub 2021, but never really recovered – and now it’s been sold again, it’s new owner WeBuild Sussex has applied to turn it into flats.
One comment left on the planning application says: “The pub has been a place for cultural and community significance for many years. Over the years, it has been in slow decline due to the owner’s personal lack of interest in its local importance.
“He was convicted of a well-documented crime and, therefore, while in prison, needed it to keep him financially stable.
“During this time, it kept going, fulfilling its duty as a place to meet and celebrate local people and its strong connection to Irish music and culture.
“When the owner, Ken, came out of prison, he personally tried for planning permission but was declined. Thereafter, I believe he had no interest in reviving its legacy.
“Due to his conviction, there was a strong protest in the surrounding streets to boycott the pub. It still managed to survive due to the loyal customers, but you could see it was struggling.
“The community has now heard that the new owner has no intention to try and revive the pub as the evidence of ripping out the various historical features visible for to see.
“The Bugle is not only an asset to the community but a cultural asset. Once the planning is passed, we will have lost all. I’m strongly against it.”
WeBuild Sussex, which is owned by Jonathan Barrett, bought the pub in June this year. The company has submitted two applications.
The first, submitted on 9 June, asked for a certificate of lawfulness to use the first floor flat as a shared home for up to four people, which it said had been the case for more than ten years.
The second, submitted last month, proposes splitting the ground floor into one one-bedroom and one two-bedroom flats.
The application does not include any evidence the pub has been marketed to let or to sell at a reasonable rate for 24 months with no interest from publicans, which the council now requires before granting any change of use.
It’ll be a shame to lose yet another pub to be replaced with flats. So many Brighton venues lost in not even very many years. I heard the same fate has been decided for the Prince Albert, very sad indeed, we can never get these places back when they’re gone but we can always built more flats..
SAVE The Bugle Pub Yes? or No?
The new owner of ‘The Bugle Pub’ on St Martin’s Street has put in a planning application to Brighton Council to develop the building into flats. It seems he is not going to try to resurrect it as a pub after all.
Do you feel this pub is an asset of the community or not? The previous landlord slowly ran it into the ground with many people refusing to go there because of his well documented conviction. It has been a place to meet and congregate for many years,
A constant place to hear tradition Irish music a place for gatherings and
celebration. There is always a need in Brighton for new homes and the current climate to keep a pub running is harder than ever so it is understandable that the new owner will look at the profit rather than community and may convert it as cheaply as possible
I know people in the community are conflicted but I feel if it were a good pub we would all go there.
If you do mind it’s change of use then please visit and register with the council to object to the plans, consultation is on the 17th of September.
Look up the planning portal link BH2025/01679 The Bugle 24 St Martins Street Brighton BN2 3HJ
One good well rounded argument could be the difference.
“Once it’s gone it’s gone.”