‘Protesters didn’t bother to buy drinks in my pub’
THE owner of a loss-making village pub has criticised a local group which wants to take it over, saying they “couldn’t even be bothered” to call in for a drink when it was open.
Paul James said he had refurbished The Angel Inn, Salem, Carmarthenshire, to a high standard when he bought it after a period of closure, but that several tenants had been unable to make it work due to a lack of custom.
“I tried it twice myself with my wife,” he said.
Mr James was addressing the council’s planning committee in support of his application to cease the building’s use as a pub and convert it into two homes. Campaigners from a group called Salem Gar, which wants to buy the building and operate it as a community-run pub, urged councillors to reject the application.
A planning officer said Salem, north of Llandeilo, had around 60 houses, a chapel and community hall, and that while The Angel Inn was regarded as a community facility there had been “extensive attempts” to keep it running. There were periods when it was busy, she said, but ultimately it was unviable to carry on.
She said Salem Gar was set up in 2022, but it was her understanding that an approach hadn’t been made to the owner until this year. She added that a grant application made by the group had been unsuccessful.
The officer said the pub had been marketed for sale “for a considerable period of time” with no realistic offers, and that the planning department had on balance recommended the application to convert it into two two-bedroom homes for approval.
Salem resident Sally Newell said The Angel Inn was a big draw when she moved there in 2020 and that it had played a valuable role as a hub during
Covid – a time when she was diagnosed with cancer. “I was able to get a home-made, nutritious meal when I didn’t feel able to cook myself,” she said.
Mrs Newell backed the buyout proposal, and said the community hall could not provide a similar service as it didn’t have an alcohol licence and wouldn’t apply for one.
Another resident, Kevin Nutt, said he didn’t believe Mr James had complied with the marketing requirements of the council’s planning policy as it had involved a for-sale sign outside and social media posts. He added that the sale of the pub’s fixtures and fittings had made the premises a less attractive proposition. Mr Nutt said Salem Gar was applying for two further grants, had raised £15,000 in pledges in just three days, and had first engaged with Mr James in 2022, not 2024.
Mr James, however, said the group hadn’t contacted him until “the 11th hour” and that it “couldn’t really answer” why it hadn’t been in touch sooner when he asked. “I think they have let themselves down there,” he said. Mr James said the pub was only open on Thursday evenings to Sundays before it closed. He said he understood the group’s feelings, but added: “They couldn’t even be bothered to call down there and buy a drink.”
Cllr Russell Sparks said he sympathised with the group and also the pub’s owner, and proposed that the committee support the officers’ recommendation of approval. His proposal was carried, with two abstentions.
After the meeting a spokesman for Salem Gar said it intended to push on with its plans. “It’s so much better when there is a pub,” he said.