Villagers’ relief as pub plan dropped

Bid for homes at The Royal Oak withdrawn

A plan to turn an historic village pub into houses has been withdrawn by the applicant.

There was an outcry from Mersham residents in March when it emerged The Royal Oak pub could be turned into two homes.

One of two pubs in the village, The Royal Oak opened as a public house in the late 16th century and ran until October last year.

The application lodged on March 2 said: “While it had been struggling as a public house for more than a decade, its forced closure for three months as a result of Covid restrictions in March 2020, and its subsequent inability to effectively compete as primarily a wet sales operation with a limited food offering (due to a lack of adequate circulation space to successfully introduce social distancing measures), meant that Shepherd Neame was faced with the difficult decision of having to permanently close the pub.”

Villagers said it struggled to compete with the Farriers Arms which became community-owned in 2009 and has since thrived.

Even so, the withdrawal of the planning application has sparked fresh hope among residents of getting The Royal Oak back.

One resident, Richard Jakeman, said: “I’m very pleased to see it.

“Hopefully the local response to the planning application showed the strength of support for the pub as a free business, and we’ll be able to have a pint in there again soon.”

Meanwhile, Ashford Borough Council’s deputy leader Cllr Paul Bartlett (Con) – who lives in Cheeseman’s Green Lane and represents Mersham – says he “fully expects it to reopen or be put back on the market”.

Despite hopes that the site will reopen, it’s a difficult time for pubs’ survival.

The Royal Oak’s last landlady, Maxine Smith, said business had been difficult in the run-up to its closure.

In March, she said: “Running a pub is difficult in any climate with high rents and the highest VAT on beer anywhere in Europe but the last year especially.

“My husband Dave and I had a fantastic two years at the Oak and would have continued if it hadn’t been for Covid.”

The Royal Oak in Mersham closed last October