We won! Appeal dismissed!

We are very pleased to tell you that the Appeal was dismissed – this means that we live to fight another day!

In essence, we are where we were before the Appeal but hopefully in a much stronger position. We hope that this decision will persuade the owners to pick up our negotiations that will allow us to have the pub and them to develop some of the land to the rear that they also own. The Inspector highlighted that our submission indicated that we felt we had made some good progress until the schemes were withdrawn.

As our supporters will know, we have been trying for seven years to secure the pub to create a much-needed community hub for the village. During our negotiations at the time of their previous planning application we proposed a ‘compromise area’ that was included in an amended version of the application and subsequently confirmed as available to us for purchase. It was therefore really frustrating when they would not agree a price for this area and that application was subsequently refused. This Appeal relates to their most recent application which, somewhat cynically, only really covered the ACV area which is the area containing the pub buildings and car park that we have been focused on getting for the community.

The need for a community hub as a focal point based in the pub is particularly pressing now that we have lost our shop and the last pub - other similar facilities are a couple of miles away along rural roads. The role of the Oddies as a focal point for the community was acknowledged by the Inspector within her discussion of its broader heritage value, which includes the ‘community heritage’ as well as the architectural heritage and historic context. She also mentioned the broader significance of heritage assets for communities – this is something we have highlighted throughout the process and the community have voiced in our Youtube ‘shorts’.

The MASSIVE turnout at the Hearing by the community was testament to the significance of the Oddies in our lives and noted by the Inspector during the hearing and in her report. We are SO grateful for the amazing community support during the Hearing and throughout the whole process. You really do keep us going!

The heritage contribution of the Oddfellows to the Conservation Area was a primary focus of the Inspectors’s Appeal determination and it was heartening that she recognised the broader rural context for the site. The ACV status of the site was a key consideration for us - the Inspector did allude to the role of the pub as a community facility but we are disappointed that the significant impact of the loss of the Pub and shop on the community was not acknowledged more readily: many of our residents find accessing facilities outside the village a challenge. This is something we emphasised strongly at the Hearing ... we still maintain that 2 miles is not a reasonable distance to walk and that we do not have services with the ‘immediate locality’!

Overall, we are very pleased that the Appeal was dismissed as it means we can keep our project going and will hopefully contribute to more productive discussions in the near future!

As a community we are ready to bring our dream to reality – we have funding available and a host willing volunteers to work alongside our refurb team to reopen our beloved pub at the heart of the community.

Watch this space!