A POPULAR pub has been deliberately run down in order for a developer to turn it into a carehome, angry residents claim.

Sophia Gray, 41, a sports nutritionist, of Chadwick Avenue, Chingford, yards from the proposed development, claims that developers Aquesta Ltd took over the pub simply to ensure its closure so that a care home could be built on the site.

She said: “The Price of Wales was a great pub. I enjoyed seeing the kids playing in the garden and hearing the football on.

“When the new owners took over I noticed they had a lot more karaoke and loud music. I think they did this to get residents to complain about the noise.”

Ms Gray claims Aquesta Ltd have bought numerous pubs up and down the country with the intention of turning them into care homes.

“There is a lot money in nursing care. These million pound conglomerates and councils get all the say while the little guy gets nothing,” she said.

Her sentiments are shared by Peter Cummins, 53, a mechanical engineer, also of Chadwick Avenue, who used to visit the pub.

He said: “The new owners stripped the walls right down to the bare minimum. It used to be a nice place to go into with lots of pictures hanging on the wall. The new owners removed all of them.

“If you visited just before it closed you wouldn't want to drink there. It wasn't a friendly building to be in.”

Derek Wheeler, 78, of The Bramblings, often enjoyed drinking in The Prince of Wales and now misses the pub.

“It was a friendly place where I went with family and friends for a roast dinner. There's nothing like that here now.

“You have to drink at home or go to The Larkshall or The Sirloin and they're difficult to get to. England used to be famous for its pubs,” he said.

The Prince of Wales closed last year and developer Aquesta Ltd now wants to build a 45-bed home with 15 car parking spaces, which will contain a day care centre.

Aquesta Ltd bought the Prince of Wales site three years ago and ran it as a pub two years before it closed.

The company still owns the site as a freehold.

A spokesman for Aquesta Ltd refuted claims the company had deliberately run the pub into the ground.

He said: "There were a lot of events and live music every week at the Prince of Wales. Every Saturday there were live bands peforming.

"At the end of the day the pub was making a loss and Aquesta wasn't able to pay staff."