How the Bree Louise looked before it was flattened [calflier001]

THE former landlord of one of a thriving pub that was shut down by HS2 believes the railway will never come to Euston.

Craig Douglas, who ran The Bree Louise with his wife, saw his home and business compulsorily purchased in 2018 because it was on a cornerstone supposedly urgently needed to build the new high-speed rail platforms.

This week, it was announced that a new decade of delays means the station at Euston will not be built until 2040 by the earliest.

The 62-year-old told the New Journal that he was still waiting for compensation five years after being forced out.

Mr Douglas said: “After this, HS2 should build what they promised – that’s a new integrated all singing and dancing station. They ripped Euston to pieces and torn it apart and it’s just soul-destroying when you go down there and see it.

“But I don’t believe it will ever get built here. It’s all going to end up luxury flats down there. We all know it.”

A film about the Bree Louise just before it closed

Mr Douglas, now living in Dorset, said he wished “everyone well” and said he felt sorry for the people left behind.

He said: “Business is impossible down there [in Euston] the way it is. They just won’t be able to survive another 10 years or more on top of what they were facing already. I still speak to a lot of people around there and they are all saying the works have already ground to a halt. “The area can’t go back to normal with the state it’s in.”

Craig Douglas and his wife, Karen, at the pub before it closed

Mr Douglas recalled getting 12 weeks to move out of The Bree Louise in January 2018.

The pub was named after Mr Douglas and his wife’s daughter, who tragically died aged 12 weeks.