THE village of Beedon is rallying to try and save one of its pubs, the Langley Hall Inn.
Plans have been submitted to convert the 200-year-old Grade II listed building into a domestic dwelling with alterations and an extension.
If approved, it could mean that locals will be left with nowhere to down a pint as the leasehold for Beedon’s only other pub, The Coach, is currently being advertised online.
Concerned villagers say that the permanent closure of the Langley Hall Inn, which ceased trading in January 2014 following years of decline, would be a “tragic loss”.
Property consultants Drake Company, acting on behalf of owners Enterprise Inns, has sold the freehold lease of the empty building to E2 Homes, saying that despite a comprehensive marketing campaign, the two offers received from parties wishing to continue running it as a pub were at “derisory levels”.
However, that claim has been questioned by Beedon resident Simon Worby, who submitted a formal bid of £200,000 with his business partner to try and save the pub.
Mr Worby said: “The claim that the offers to buy the freehold and continue to run the Langley Hall Inn as a pub were “derisory” is, of course, entirely subjective and is a valueless assertion; the fact of the matter is that, sadly, public houses are worth massively less than private dwellings.
“The applicant’s proposal offers nothing to the local community at all, it simply deprives the area of an asset which, once gone, will almost certainly never be returned.
“We must do our best to stem the tragic loss of pubs in this country, particularly perfectly viable and historically important establishments such as the Langley Hall Inn. I urge the council to reject this application outright.”
A statement from Drake Company said: “Despite a comprehensive marketing campaign, including a prominent advertisement in the pub industry’s leading trade publication, The Publican’s Morning Advertiser, we did not receive any leasehold interest or offers from parties wishing to continue pub use. The two freehold offers that were received for continued pub use were at derisory levels and were dismissed by our clients.”
The applicant, Rockway Construction Ltd, said that the pub has suffered declining trade for a number of years, mainly due to its location and no longer being on a main route to Oxford.
Beedon Parish Council said: “The definition of ‘derisory offers’ for the pub as a going concern is surely based only upon subjective opinion. No figures are given to suggest that this is a demonstrably true statement.
“It is understood that a consortium locally made an offer to purchase the pub as a pub/going concern, an offer that was rejected.
“That and another offer apparently received may well have been perfectly valid if the premises were to remain as a pub, but clearly the buyer/ applicant has no interest in retaining a public house, particularly as conversion to a private home would substantially boost the value of the freehold.”