There was a survey loose in this newsletter which asked you about the pub. Please fill it in.
Better still please fill it in on-line if you can here
The more people who respond, the more it will show how much we value the pub.
The Parish Council has decided to register the Bat and Ball as an Asset of Community Value (ACV). To do this we need to provide evidence of the ways in which the pub is important to the life of our community. We’re looking for evidence that the pub is at the heart of social life in the village.
ACVs and other ways of protecting the pub were on the agenda at a recent meeting in the village hall. Fifty people turned out to hear David Cooper from CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale) talk about protecting the Bat and Ball as a pub. To say the least, he was nicely surprised. He’d been expecting a quiet talk with perhaps three people from the Parish Council but rose to the occasion.
Of course, it’s Admiral, the new owner of the pub, who will have the final say in what happens to it. But, there are some things the village can do to influence Admiral’s decision.
Top of the list is registering the pub as an Asset of Community Value with South Oxfordshire District Council. Being realistic, not all applications are approved. In fact, South Oxfordshire is notorious for its low rate of approval – only 20% compared to the national average of 60%.
If approved and were Admiral to decide to put the pub up for sale, then the village would have six months to raise the money to buy it. Admiral are not bound to accept any offer – ours or anybody else. If successful, the village would then run the pub as a community enterprise. (More about this possibility for another day.)
Perhaps more importantly, the other benefit of registering the pub is that it strengthens the case against redeveloping the pub for housing should Admiral ask for planning permission to do that.
Other suggestions at the meeting included approaching Admiral directly and approaching our MP.
So, please open the survey and fill it in, preferably on line. Send paper versions to 12 The Green, Cuddesdon, OX44 9JZ (just downhill from the church and across the road). And, many thanks to Nicola Swift who has much improved the survey and put it in-line.
If you have any questions, relevant expertise to offer, please contact me at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
Nicko King
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|