Battle to save Warwickshire pub rumbles on after plans declared invalid
CAMPAIGNERS say they’re ‘shocked’ at a dramatic, eleventh-hour twist in the long-running battle to stop their village pub being turned into housing.
Owners of the Fox and Hounds Inn in Great Wolford applied for planning consent to change the 17th-century watering hole into a house.
But locals, who’ve seen off three previous attempts, say losing their pub would ‘rip the beating heart’ out of their community.
The latest application for conversion to residential seemed certain to be approved last week.
But it was declared invalid and axed from the agenda the day before the Stratford District Council planning committee meeting on 20th March.
Stratford District Councillor Sarah Whalley-Hoggins (Con, Brailes & Compton) said: “The withdrawal of the Fox and Hounds application from the planning committee 26 hours before the committee were due to make a decision was truly shocking, especially for such a high-profile case.
“A truly staggering amount of time, energy and money has been spent dealing with the application by all of us involved in the Save The Fox and Hounds Campaign but the resolve to continue with the fight has not diminished.”
Cllr Whalley-Hoggins has “loudly voiced” her “discontent” at events and says Stratford District Council’s head of development John Careford “has offered a full apology for the late withdrawal of the agenda item”.
Jackie Harding and Steve Allely took over the Grade-II listed Fox & Hounds in 2015 and spent £40,000 revamping it, including ripping out the original oak bar and replacing it with a contemporary one, and installing a juke box.
The pair closed the pub in 2016, claiming it was not a viable business.
It went on the market for £550,000 in 2018 but did not sell and is still closed.
The fourth and latest round of the ongoing battle centred on whether the pub, which has been a registered asset of community value since 2016, can be a viable business or not.
Speaking about the events of last week, Cllr Whalley-Hoggins added: “It is important to remember that just because this item was withdrawn from the agenda on this occasion, this does not mean that it will not be revisited again once the applicant has fully complied with marketing and validation requirements.
“Therefore, be assured that all of us involved in the Save The Fox and Hounds campaign will continue to be in a state of preparedness just in case this happens.”
Great Wolford resident James van Helden, a key member of the Save the Fox and Hounds campaign, told the Herald: “It does beg the question as to why it has taken so long for the council to determine that it was invalid.”
A spokesperson for Stratford District Council said: “On Sunday 17th March 2024 legal advice, in the form of a counsel’s opinion, was submitted to the Council.
“In light of this a meeting between planning and legal officers on Tuesday 19th March 2024 identified that the application was invalid as marketing information had not been submitted with the application.
“The council’s local list requires that marketing information is submitted ‘For applications which involve the loss of community facilities, such as shops, pubs, medical and leisure’; the fact that marketing information had not been submitted means that it fails to meet the local list and therefore is not a valid planning application and could not therefore be determined by the planning committee.”
