Former Hook Norton pub saved from developers
An historic pub in Oxfordshire has escaped property developers following a recent unanimous vote against it being turned into housing.
The pub, named the Bell Inn, located in Great Bourton, was previously owned by the Hook Norton Brewery before it was sold to its current owner in May 2024.
Prior to the sale, the brewery had said that the building had no commercial future as a pub and so, according to the BBC, its current owner had stripped it of its pub fixtures.
Despite the site being touted to be turned into housing, 239 people weighed in to oppose plans for it to be converted.
Cherwell District Council’s planning committee was applauded by members of the public after it unanimously dismissed the change of use application for the site, near Banbury.
Speaking about the situation, district councillor for Cropredy, Sibfords and Wroxton Chris Brant insisted that the pub had been the “beating heart” of Great Bourton.
According to Brant, when the pub had been closed, the community had been “denied a fair opportunity to act” against its sale and swiftly after this the planning application had then caused “deep concern” in the area leading to a group of “united residents” who were completely against it being lost.
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The denied permission followed an action group to save the pub having been set up, a move which gave locals a voice in the debate and essentially told the council that a great many people from the area still believed that the inn was financially viable to be run as a pub once again.
The Save The Bell Inn Group told Cherwell Council that it still believes that the venue could “thrive as a profitable concern if allowed to continue as a public house”.
A third of pub losses happen without the required planning permission, according to data gathered by the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA).
In 2023, 260 pubs were lost forever due to conversion or demolition, and reports from CAMRA volunteers across the country show that many pubs continue to be demolished or converted without apparent planning permission. These include at least 10 in the six months in the run up to demolition of the Crooked House, and a further 29 in England since, which are currently being investigated by CAMRA.
The figures come as calls mount for the government to change its plans for “High Street Rental Auctions” which are pitched as a regeneration scheme.
CAMRA pointed out that these auctions would see developers gain the ability to gut and convert vacant pubs without the need to apply for planning permission amplifying concerns that cutting communities out of this decision will lead to the loss of valued community facilities.
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