Hampstead Village BID rebel landlord sees court date adjourned and still refuses to pay up

Hampstead Business Improvement District (BID) rebel Jimmy McGrath – who continues to defy requests to pay the BID levy – saw his day court appearance adjourned for a month yesterday at Highbury Corner magistrates’ court.

Jimmy, the landlord at the King William IV pub on Hampstead High Street, owes just over £900 having refused to pay the fee for two years.

He took over the pub just after the BID was introduced after a July 2016 referendum.

At court, the 79 year old told the Ham&High: “I still want answers, I don’t understand it. I don’t get why neighbouring areas get their streets cleaned, for example, by the council but in Hampstead we have to pay on top of our rates to a private company...”

Earlier this week, the BID’s only employee, chief executive Caroline Goldsack, told this newspaper she was hoping to build bridges with traders. She said: “We want to really emphasise that businesses can talk to us, and really influence what we do.”

She has offered to get a coffee with Jimmy in order to defuse the argument.