Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Village pub feared lost forever reopens after three years shut
Couple takes on 19th century inn locals thought would be turned into house
A pub that had been closed for three years has finally reopened – as its new landlords vow to establish it as a valued village boozer.
Pints were poured for the first time since 2019 at The Chequers Inn, near Canterbury, on Saturday – with dozens of relieved locals filing in for a drink.
The relaunch came after residents feared the Petham tavern could be gone for good, when plans to transform it into a house were lodged with Canterbury City Council.
But new landlords Steve Mchugh and Paula Gilbert now hope to make it popular once again, by serving traditional pub grub, running Sunday carveries and making it “a happy family-run” business.
“We saw it was on the market, thought it was really nice, viewed it and went for it,” Mr Mchugh, 45, told the Gazette.
“We’re trying to turn it back into your traditional village pub, where you can come in to have a decent meal and drink. The menu was a bit upmarket before, but we’re going back to traditional fish and chips, burgers, homemade pies and things like that.”
The couple signed off on a fiveyear lease for the 19th century tavern a fortnight ago – but are aiming to eventually strike a deal with the building’s owners for its freehold.
It will be open every day between 12pm and 11pm, and the pair are hoping to secure a licence from the local authority to serve booze outside.
While it was shut, the only place to go for a beer in the village was a micropub, called the Petham Pint, which is inside a converted B&B.
“It’s about trying to get people back in The Chequers and realising it’s open again,” Mr Mchugh added.
“We’re working on the menu at the moment, but we’re hoping to run some decent prices – we’re not looking to rip people off.
“We want people to come here as a family and for it not to cost the earth.”
The pub was previously on the market for £590,000, after developers launched a failed bid to overturn a city council decision to snub proposals to convert it into a home.
This prompted three friends – who regularly visited The Chequers Inn while it was open – to try to purchase it using cash from the government’s Community Ownership Fund.
One of the members of the trio, Norman Clark, says negotiations for the premises collapsed last year, months before Mr Mchugh and Ms Gilbert took it over.
“It’s quite a relief for the village to be able to have a pub again,” Mr Clark said.
“It brings to the community a central location to come and meet up and have a pub lunch and things like that. The micropub was quite good, but it was only beer. We had to travel a distance to get to a pub, but now we’d be able to walk to it.”
‘We’re trying to turn it back into your traditional village pub, where you can come in to have a decent meal and drink...’