UNDER THREAT PUB MAY BE SAVED
A BEDWORTH pub that looked destined for closure could be saved as plans to replace it with a supermarket and possibly a takeaway are set to be refused.
The proposal to bulldoze the Cross Keys Inn in Goodyers End Lane and use part of the land for a Co-op go before Nuneaton and Bedworth planning committee on Tuesday.
Hundreds of concerned residents signed a petition before Christmas taking a stand against the plans. They claimed the town didn’t need a new supermarket but that the loss of the pub could be detrimental for the area.
Now it seems that council officers agree with them and have recommended the plan for refusal, claiming that not enough has been done to stop the loss of the pub,
The application, submitted by Rudyard Properties, is seeking planning permission to demolish the existing pub and put up two buildings, one to be used as a shop and the other to be used as a shop, office, restaurant, cafe or hot food takeaway.
Many pubs have been closed or demolished over the years with the Black Horse pub in Exhall bulldozed to make way for new jobs at a scaffolding storage unit, The Boot Inn in Grendon closing for good just last week and popular Coventry pub The Albany in Earlsdon taking last orders after 110 years.
Bedworth pub-goers are hoping desperately that the Cross Keys won’t be joining them.
Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council received 27 letters of objection and three petitions against the plan signed by 443 people.
Neighbours raised concerns that Davenports brewery had not been given the opportunity to purchase the property.
However, Davenports was contacted by the council and said that they were aware the pub was ‘not viable’ and agreed to continue the tenancy until the future of the pub is decided.
Concerns about noise pollution, highway safety and the loss of a community asset were also raised by residents, which have been echoed in the council’s recommendation for refusal.
The council contacted the agent for the application and asked them to provide further evidence that the pub was ‘marketed extensively’.
A report said: “The response was that the site had been marketed for over six months “in the normal way” via a mailing list and that no-one, including the multisite tenant, showed any interest. Their real estate consultant stated that no signboard had been erected as this can harm the existing commercial business. Officers consider that the evidence of the marketing and the time period for marketing is insufficient to demonstrate that a viable alternative use can be found in order not to lose the benefit of the site’s existing community facility use.”
Members of the planning committee will meet at 5pm on Tuesday at Nuneaton Town Hall to decide whether to approve or refuse the plans.