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Picture - visit by Herefordshire Planning Committee to the Crown Inn
on June 3rd in preparation for their deliberations on Friday June 6th.
The Northern Area Planning sub committee deferred consideration of the plans for the Crown Inn on Wednesday 29 April 2003 as they wish to have a site visit first. Next Planning Meeting is 6 June but it is not certain yet whether the site visit will be in time for this meeting (it was!).
Crown Night: Saturday 5 April 2003
The evening started in glorious sunshine as we sat outside the Village Hall, adorned by the Crown pub sign, sipping the excellent
beer provided by Malvern Hills Brewery. As the evening progressed more people arrived, bringing the final numbers including the “bar
staff” to over 60.
The hall transformed itself easily into a village pub, and the lighting of the rafters provided the perfect atmosphere. Geoff Thomas and
June Nason manned the bar like old hands. Geoff Cooper acted as bouncer on the door. Kath Munrowd was the raffle queen and
almost single-handed raised £88 for the doctors’ surgery. Rosie Berry gave new meaning to Cider with Rosie having brought some
beautifully bottled Knight’s Cider. Ken Nason proved a natural auctioneer at the end of the evening as we had over catered on the
lettuces. The rest of us: Charlotte Hale, Joy Jerkin, Barbara Thomas, Pat Fairfax and David Thompson worked in the kitchen.
We took nearly £400 on the night with proceeds of £140 going to the surgery in addition to the raffle monies.
But it was not the beer, the cider, the food or the hall that made the biggest impression: It was the people! The hubbub was amazing
as people chatted, met old acquaintances, and introduced themselves to their neighbours, some for the first time. We celebrated
Mrs Clutterbuck’s birthday in true village pub style and everyone chipped in for the raffle. John had his ear glued to a walkman
listening for a news item on the village hall, Hugh agreed to look after Joy’s chicken when she goes away, Di gave Sally some onion
sets for her veg plot, Geoff and Alan reminisced on their time in the air force and David took the photos.
If anyone had any doubt on the value of a Village Pub, this event made it crystal clear: a Village Pub is about
Community, and the sooner we have a proper village pub in Cradley the better.
Will we do it again? You bet! Make a note of Saturday 7 June. We are looking to arrange for some live music, and to see how we
can allow children in, this time.
Sally Ramsden
From the Malvern Gazette 14 March 2003, ack Jon Di Paolo.
Rethink could see pub re-open
A VILLAGE pub that has not served a pint in more than a decade
could open its doors again if plans to develop it are approved.
After a change of heart, David Woodward, who owns the Crown Inn
at Cradley, says he wants to reopen it and build houses and bed and
breakfast accommodation next door.
Mr Woodward has asked Herefordshire Council for permission to carry
out the work.
A plan submitted last year to turn the Grade II listed pub into housing
provoked a storm of protest from villagers, with a group called the
Cradley Crown Crusaders launched to fight the application.
A petition with 758 signatures and 200 letters of objection were
handed to the council in January and the plan was withdrawn last
month.
Mr Woodward said he was "overwhelmed" by the response to his initial
application and said the level of support for the pub to re-open had
convinced that the new plan would be the best way forward. He
wants bed and breakfast accommodation in order to help support the
pub and said he plans to build four houses in its grounds to finance
the renovation work.
"I would hope that those who originally objected to the whole site
being changed to residential use will recognise this compromise as a
way forward and write in support of the new applications," he said.
"Furthermore I hope they support the pub when it re-opens."
However, Sally Ramsden, of the Crusaders, said that the housing
development would swallow much of the garden and car park, making
it less attractive to drinkers and reducing the pub's chances of
succeeding.
She said that she would also like to see the plans for re-developing
the pub.
Ms Ramsden said the Crusaders would be making a presentation to
Cradley Parish Council's planning committee on Tuesday about the
application.
© Copyright 2002 Newsquest Media Group - A Gannett Company
From the Malvern Gazette 7 March 2003, ack Jon Di Paolo.
Housing plan for pub withdrawn
CAMPAIGNERS in Cradley are celebrating after a planning application
to turn a village pub into housing was withdrawn.
The application to turn the Grade II listed pub, which has served the
village for 300 years, into housing had been submitted by owner David
Woodward.
A group of residents called the Cradley Crown Crusaders was formed
in November to focus opposition to the project. A 758-signature
petition was handed to Herefordshire planners in January, along with
200 letters of objection.
Crusaders spokeswoman Sally Ramsden said the decision makes the
campaigners feel their work in opposing the application has been
worthwhile.
"Mr Woodward should now open the Crown as a pub or sell it to
someone who will enjoy the lifestyle that the Crown, the village and
the location has to offer," she said.
Mark Haslam, of the Hereford and Worcester branch of the Campaign
for Real Ale (CAMRA), pointed out that many of the county's smaller
villages support a pub.
"Cradley, with a population of 1,650, is nearly four times the size of
the average Herefordshire village that benefits from having a pub," he
said.
"Add to this fact that Cradley already successfully supports a shop,
post office, village hall, surgery, school and social club and it's
surprising that anyone could not see the role for a village pub in this
populous and vibrant community."
He offered Mr Woodward CAMRA's help in marketing his property as a
pub.
"CAMRA is now confident that the pub being offered for sale in good
faith will be the first step to its eventual re-opening," said Mr Haslam.
Mr Woodward said he would reveal his future plans next week.
© Copyright 2002 Newsquest Media Group - A Gannett Company
Sat 1 March I (Sally) received a letter from the planning Officer for Herefordshire Council telling me that the application to change the Crown to housing has been withdrawn. This is very good news and a reflection of the support shown by the village in writing letters, signing petitions and being there when it mattered. Our next step must be to persuade the owner to sell the Crown as a pub or to open it himself. Either way he will have our support.
Many thanks to everyone who made it for the Cameras on Monday morning 24 Feb 10.30am. The interview went out in the evening, a mere sound bite compared with the time they spent interviewing CAMRA and village supporters.However, there were some good shots of the Crown and of our supporters. We had let Mr woodward know that the Television people were coming, but he refused the opportunity of being interviewed. I understand from Mark Haslam, CAMRA, that Central TV are doing "magazine"item later this week and it will include elements from Monday. Keep it rolling!
Central Television asked to interview supporters of the Crown Crusade on Monday at Finchers Corner opposite the Crown Inn. Many thanks for everyone who turned out for the interview about the Crown. I hope everyone caught the
programme on Monday night along with interviews at the Live and Let Live at Bringsty Common. The interviews were only a fraction
of those taken on Monday morning but there were some excellent shots of the Crown itself and also of the supporters. Cetainly
everyone seemed to be enjoying the event and if the noise level is any measure, a pub in this village will be a hot bed of discussion. Which is what it is all about! We were also featured on Hereford and Worcester Radio at about the same time. I hope we are now moving to a point where we can prove that the Crown Inn is a marketable proposition. (News by Sally Ramsden)
February 11
Parish Council Meeting: CCC attended as members of the public with briefing note.
Parish Council Chairman’s personal letter of January 28 was regularised and adopted as a Parish Council letter.
Parish Council agreed that they would like to see the Crown reopened as a village pub, and that they do not support the change of use of the Crown to housing.
Parish Council agreed that when the planning application is due to be heard by the Herefordshire Planning Committee that they will send a representative to speak opposing any change of use. The Planning Committee will be responsible for managing this.
CCC unable to achieve (hyperlink) further aim of inviting the Parish Council to a meeting as Chairman guillotined question time at 10 minutes. This aim has been followed up in a written invitation.
(full copies of the minutes will be available (usually just before next PC meeting) at the Post Office)
BRIEFING NOTE FOR MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ATTENDING CRADLEY & STORRIDGE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING ON 11 FEBRUARY 2003
The Cradley Crown Crusaders are attending the Parish Council meeting tonight in an attempt to persuade the Parish Council, one more time, to recognise that the issue surrounding the Crown is a matter in which they should be sharing and supporting the village.
If you are intending to raise other matters would you let us know. We have no wish to hinder your business and therefore suggest that you take the first opportunity at question time.
The line we intend taking is as follows:
The Crown has been an issue in the village since November, but the Council has steadfastly refused to raise the level of debate: see PC item in the last Village Newsletter. At this late stage we do not consider that the 10 minute Question and Answer Session provides the opportunity to persuade the Parish Council to our point of view. Letters have already failed and Q&A sessions too easily degenerate into confrontation (witness Prime Minister’s question time). Our approach, tonight, will be to invite the Parish Council to an early private meeting, chaired by an independent person, at which we will present our case for the Crown and for the Parish Council’s role in supporting the village view.
Their ready acceptance of this proposal will indicate the degree of willingness to have an informed dialogue.
February 8
Chairperson of Open Meeting (hyperlink) received reply from Parish Council, by hand, to letter of 20 November thanking for her comments and noting them.
January 29
CCC sends interim response to Chairman of Parish Council stating that they are unable to accept as being an official response from the Parish Council as not on Council letterhead.
January 28
Letter received from Michael Allfrey, Chairman of Parish Council, on his personal letterhead.
January 25
CCC issue Newsletter Issue 3 with (hyperlink?) open letter to Parish Council
14 January
Parish Council meeting: CCC attended as members of the public
Newsletter Issue 1 of November from Chairperson of Open Meeting (hyperlink) discussed and reply authorised. (full copies of the minutes are available at the Post Office)
8 January
6 January
CCC undertake a count of letters sent to Herefordshire Planning. 176 letters counted many with dual signatories, 20 of which are not from the parish but from people who once lived in the village or support groups such as CPRE, and CAMRA.
6 January
CCC present petition to County Councillors, Roy Stockton and Rees Mills, containing 772 signatures
15 December
CCC letter written to Mr Woodward offering professional help in selling or opening the Crown as a pub. (No response received)
6 December
Reasons for keeping the Crown Inn Cradley
Report to Herefordshire Planning
Planning Reference: NE2002/3155/F
Fig 1 View of Crown from South
Herefordshire Unitary Development Plan draft 2002
TCR14 Village commercial facilities
Applications for change of use leading to the loss of such facilities will only be permitted where it can be demonstrated that the existing use is no longer viable and unlikely to become so, that all means of retaining the facility have been explored taking into account the importance of the facility to the local community.
Written by Sally Ramsden, Cradley Crown Crusaders, December 2002. Contact no 01886 880220
1 The Crown Inn: our village pub
1.1 The Crown Inn sits in the heart of our village of Cradley and has served the community for 300years. The main building is timber framed probably Elizabethan. The stone barn, which is also a significant feature, is built in Cradley limestone and together is Grade 2 listed. Its location in the village provides a stunning view out across the valley to the Malvern Hills. Earliest documents show the Inn’s function being a farm but there are records from the C18 of cider and beer being brewed on the premises. As a pub it is therefore very much a part of the architectural and social history of the village.
1.2 Before the last publican died, the Crown provided a classic Herefordshire "local". Maud was the live wire of the husband and wife team, the last publicans to own the Crown. She would run the bar and provide the eats in the barn where the Friends of Cradley School, and the Playgroup Committee amongst others would play skittles and run fund raising events. Chris Lowder remembers that his Uncle Hubert, when editor of the "Village Newsletter" in the 1960s, considered it a key place for gathering material and he used to hold court in the snug by the fire with his cronies. In the 1980s Malcolm Scott would bring his foreign students from Birmingham University Physics Department to be introduced to the whole concept of skittles and the "English Pub". All this went on the death of Maud and Bert.
2 Fighting to Save our Village Pub
2.1 Why now? Our village pub has been closed for around 15 years so it might seem reasonable to suggest that we have learnt to live without it, so why make a fuss now? To an outsider it may be hard to understand but to us the pub was never closed merely unavailable due to renovations.
2.2 We greeted the arrival of the current owner and his business partner with optimism. They had grand ideas for the place, new kitchens, and a dining area, so the need for some building work was appreciated. We knew that Maud and Bert had let things go in their latter years. Months would pass with little apparent result but, we understood that the cash had to be earned before it could be invested, we approved the standard of workmanship, we applauded that here was someone trying to get it right, that was prepared to work hard to achieve their dreams. As time went by (years of it) concerns were expressed "when is the pub opening" "why is that the centre of the village a builders yard", ("Planning for Real"® in May 2002), concerns were expressed at the owner’s business acumen: surely the way to generate cash flow for the project was to get the pub open! But every year the rumours went round: " the Crown is opening for Christmas, Easter, the Millennium…" It never occurred to us that the Crown might close forever. We can be accused of being patient; we can be accused of being naïve, but are these good enough reasons to say we have forfeited the right of our village pub for good?
2.3 We are now very alive to the threat that we may lose our pub. It is significant that as soon as the news of the planning application was out, those who live closest to the Crown Inn started campaigning. It is they who galvanised us into action. The village has now picked up the challenge. Over 90 people turned up on a November Sunday afternoon to express their support to save our village pub, the action committee that was formed at the close of this meeting has representatives from right across the village, over 700 people have signed the petition, over 150 letters have been written to Planning. Posters are up round the village, a newsletter has been issued and the Malvern Gazette and Hereford Times have covered our campaign most weeks since the open meeting. All this demonstrates that we value our village pub and we shall not lose it for all time.
2.4 The current owner, on the other hand, seems to see the Crown pub as a business transaction. What he fails to realise is that the Crown is more than a building. The Crown pub is valued by the people of this village for its visual contribution, for its historic contribution, and above all for its contribution as a convivial meeting place. Most of us can walk there easily. It can be a spur of the moment to catch last orders, it can be lifeline for those living on their own, it can make an ideal spot to take visiting friends, popping to the pub is part of the rural way of life. The village pub, the village shop, the village post office are all commercial concerns but they have that extra dimension of service to the community for which there can be no price.
3 What if the pub should close?
3.1 We would see the demolition and conversion of a C17th Grade 2 listed public house .The Crown Inn has survived wars, revolution, rationalisation, village expansion, television, and the breathalyser. It would be closed just at a time when village pubs are being recognised for their contribution to the rural way of life, at a time when the rural lifestyle is attracting both visitors and new potential pub owners.
3.2 Where would be the alternatives? The answer for many is nowhere. For some there is the Red Lion and Prancing Pony at Stiffords Bridge on the A4103, or the British Legion Club in the village.
3.3 The Red Lion and the Prancing Pony are outside the village, 1.1miles away. The real issue is that it is not practical to walk to the Red Lion or the Prancing Pony, both at Stifford’s Bridge on the A4103. The footpaths are muddy at all times of the year as they cross streams without bridges, and are treacherous at night. They may make for good country walks but they do not make good routes when popping out for a quick pint. And the roads? The A4103 is a well surfaced fast main road linking Hereford and Worcester, the concerns by the village over the speed of traffic has been well documented over the years and more recently in our "Planning for Real"® exercise. For walkers the main road presents an unlit obstacle course with narrow grass verges, broken by storm drains and general rubble. Walking is just not an option and is socially exclusive to all but the most fit.
3.4 Having to go by car, or even more expensively, by taxi, puts both these pubs in a different league to the village local. It is more expensive, requires a greater element of planning, needs self-sacrifice by the driver not to drink and drive, and is unlikely to be a spur-of-the-moment decision. The popping in on the off chance, which can do so much to maintain the village communications and sense of belonging (as well as cash flow for the publican), just does not happen. A visit to either of these pubs soon shows that they do not see themselves as being village pubs, but rather they have created their own clientele for whom the drive into the country along the A4103 is a positive benefit not a drawback.
3.5 The British Legion although well placed in the village, almost opposite the Crown, is housed in a utilitarian building. It has opened its doors wider in the last few years but it is nevertheless a club requiring membership .The Legion provides excellent facilities for members who enjoy pub sports, comradeship, and a pint (but no food). The Legion is not aiming for the same market as the village pub; it runs under a national agenda. Unlike pubs it is not protected, for the village, by planning law. The British Legion is subject to a national bottom line as has been seen recently with the closure of the Barnards Green club in Malvern. There is uncertainty too about the future of the Legion in Cradley.
4 Why should the Crown Inn be saved?
4.1 The current owner of the Crown Inn clearly wishes to realise his assets. Before any consideration is given to conversion, the Crown Inn should be put on the market As A PUB. There are a number of reasons why we are optimistic that it will attract a buyer, not the least being the recent sale of the Live and Let Live at Bringsty Common.
Fig 4 Crown Inn from North showing barn on left and Malvern Hills beyond.
Please support us by turning down this planning application.
Village of Cradley (not to scale)
28 November
Inaugural meeting of the Cradley Crown Crusaders
20 November
Letter sent by Chairperson of the Open Meeting to Parish Council requesting change of stance on supporting change of use. (see 8 February for reply)
17 November
Open Meeting in Village. (Around 90 people attending.) It was agreed that the Cradley Crown Crusaders would be set up to oppose the change of use and to fight to keep the Crown as a village pub.
12 November
Parish Council Meeting. The Chairman of the Planning Committee reported the (hyperlink) outcome of the Planning Meeting. This report was accepted without comment by the full Council.
outcome of the Planning Meeting
Extract from minutes of Parish Council meeting on 12 November 2002
" NE2002/3155/F and NE2002/3156/L. The Crown, Bosbury Road, Cradley WR13 5LS.Alerations and extensions to convert public house and attached barn to 3no. dwellings, demolition of kitchen, toilets, and link between pub and barn and erection of 4 no. new dwellings. Members supported the redevelopment of the site subject to the barn being removed in the interests of highway safety and to enable a footpath to be installed in its place, the erection of only one 4-bedroomed detached house, of a design in keeping with the pub and village, rather than the two proposed to prevent over development of the site and that the proposed dwellings should include three and four affordable terrace type houses. Members also supported the use of reclaimed materials but expressed concern that there would be more than five dwellings from one access."
(full copies of the minutes are available at the Post Office)
Response of Cradley Parish Council dated 9 November 2002 to Herefordshire Planning Office
"The Parish Council support the redevelopment of the site subject to:-
5 November 2002
Parish Council Planning Committee Meeting. Application for housing at Crown Inn considered. Outcome sent to Herefordshire Planning (see above) supporting change of use to housing.