Pints West 66, Summer 2005 - Bristol & District CAMRA

PINTS WEST......................................................................................................................................................Rose & Crown, Iron Acton updateAS most of you will be aware, theBristol and District branch of CAMRAhas joined forces with local residents toattempt to save the Rose & Crown atIron Acton, which closed suddenly on23 November 2004. In the last editionwe told of an upcoming public meeting.The owners, Allan and Gail Didcott hadnot made their future plans clear at thattime. Much has occurred since – hereis a brief summary.The public meeting took place on Monday,March 14 th in Iron Acton Village Hall andwas extremely well attended. Just over 100people came on the night and many messageswere received from others unable to make it.The owners were invited but refused to attendand sent a terse message saying, “It is not forsale”. The Bristol Evening Post featured themeeting both before and after the event, andsent a reporter and photographer to cover it.The meeting was jointly run by the localaction group and CAMRA. Speeches weremade by both groups and key points includedthe following.The building had been a public house since1680 and was seen as the “central hub of theIron Acton community” by many. Indeedseveral people stated that they had moved toIron Acton to be near this pub. It had featuredin the last twelve editions of the Good Beer4THE STAR INNReputedly Bath’s oldest inn steeped intradition and renowned the world over.Described by The Campaign for Real Ale as a rareand unspoiled pub interior of outstanding historicinterest and listed on theNational Inventory of Heritage Pubs.Serving traditional English ales including:Bellringer brewed in Bathand Burton’s favourite brew Bass.23 THE VINEYARDS, PARAGON, BATH Tel 01225 425072Guide, putting it in the top few pubs in ourarea for consistent excellence. Several peoplesaid that they had enquired about buying thepub, or were aware of others who had tried.All had met with a complete lack of interestfrom the owners.Bob Ford, of Iron Acton Football Club,said that they had been prevented by theowners from using the full-sized football pitchand changing facilities, to the rear of the pub,for some years. They would dearly love toreturn to play there, rather than in Yate asthey have to now. This could obviously bringin considerable trade to the pub, from players,spectators and their families.Many others bemoaned the fact that theowners had always declined to open duringlunchtimes, except on Sundays, and it wasobvious that much potential trade was lost as aresult. The fact that the pub had never soldfood, other than a handful offilled rolls at opening time,was also obviously a missedopportunity to gain revenue.Whilst many of us loved theplace partly because of this,the pub serving food andopen is infinitely preferableto it ceasing to exist.All of the above werefelt to be clear indicators thatthe Didcotts’ claim that thepub had become “unviable”was open to considerablequestion. Perhaps the mostdamning evidence of allthough came from a numberof comments made byformer regulars at the pub,who alleged that they hadbeen made to feel increasinglyunwelcome anduncomfortable when usingthe pub over the last twoyears. Quite a number ofpeople stated that they wereconvinced that a deliberateeffort had been made to runthe business down andengineer an “unviable”situation. Anecdotesincluded people beingbanned for “parking theirbicycle in the garden” and for“singing Christmas songs atChristmas”!A rumour was circulatingLocal CAMRA web site : www.camrabristol.org.ukat the meeting that one of the other two pubsin the village – the White Hart – was about tobe converted into a Thai restaurant. This hasjust been denied by the incoming licensee whoinsists it will remain primarily a pub, withThai food. Even so, it may mean moreopportunity for increased trade at a reopenedRose & Crown, with less emphasis on foodthan the two other village pubs and offering analternative ambience to them.A vote was taken to ascertain support forcontinuing to fight the closure. All but oneperson agreed with this motion. At this pointa local District Councillor identified himself,and offered his full support for the campaign.After more debate a three-person committeeof local people was formed to take thingsforward, with the promise of full supportfrom CAMRA.On 22 nd April 2005 the Didcotts finallydeclared their true intentions by submittinga request to South GloucestershireCouncil to change the use of the buildingto become a private residence.They cited “unviability” as the reason.Details of how to view the application are atthe end of this article. By the time that youread this then the request will have been agreedor refused. We are aware of many peopleplanning to lodge formal objections and areoptimistic that the Council will refuse theapplication. How can the claim of unviabilitybe accepted when so little attempt was madeto unlock the true potential of the place? Inaddition there is very little evidence of anygenuine attempt to sell the pub as a goingconcern, so we have to come to the sadconclusion that this was indeed a cynicalattempt to take advantage of the boom inproperty prices by realising the maximumvalue of the buildings and land.It is a sad fact that virtually all rural pubsare worth much more as private houses than asgoing concerns, and if this application isallowed then no such pub will be safe fromclosure. Even if planning is refused at thisstage then the owners are likely to keepapplying and the fight will be a long one – butone that we are determined to win. Theowners would do well to remember that theygot their hands on the place in 1985 only aftera considerable amount of backing (including a150-signature petition) from the very samelocal people that they have now let down sobadly.Whether or not you were familiar with theRose & Crown, you should consider joiningour fight to save it – it could be your favouritepub next!Vince MurrayPlanning Application Details:Application No. PK05/1143/F. Can be viewed atwww.southglos.gov.uk or in person at Yate OneStop Shop, Yate Leisure Centre. Case OfficerSarah Tucker.STOP PRESS: As at 18/05/05 therewere 71 letters opposing change of useand 1 in support on the council website!