Setback for pub campaigners

Campaigners hoping to save a village pub have had a set back after a bid to have it listed as a “community asset” was recommended to be refused.

Gedney Dyke villagers are looking to re-open The Chequers which shut its doors on Christmas Eve last year after, what campaigners say, is around 200 years of pubs on the site and the last public amenity in the village.

The bid to save it included asking South Holland District Council to add it to a List of Assets of Community Value.

However a report has recommended that the pub doesn’t meet legal requirements as it’s not currently a pub and insufficient evidence was submitted to suggest how long it had been a pub previously.

The report by community officer Jessica Horn to the council’s portfolio holder for communities Coun Gary Taylor, who will make the final decision says: “There is no indication of how long the public house has been open, and sufficient evidence has not been provided to suggest that it is realistic to think that there is a time in the next five years when there could be a non-ancillary use to the building or land that would further (whether or not in the same way as before) the social well-being or social interests of the local community.

“The parish council has been invited to submit further information about the proposed future use, but no further information has been forthcoming.

“It is therefore recommended that the asset not be listed.”

The chairman of Gedney Parish Council, Ian Field says he believes the information the parish council submitted was sufficient, but said it would continue to look at saving The Chequers.

“We are at a loss to understand the apparent decision made,” he said. “We submitted the application on behalf of the community with all the material factors in the main application.

“It covered the 200 years of pubs on the site and its future either being run by a landlord or the community.

“It’s already on our agenda for next Tuesday’s meeting of the parish council where we will discuss this and either look to appeal the current submission or look to submit a fresh application.”

If The Chequers is added to the district council’s List of Community Assets, it will remain on it for five years and will be subject to what is called the “Community Right to Bid” legislation that means the sale of the building would be paused for six months to allow the community to raise the funds to buy it.

It’s position on the list can be reviewed every five years after a successful application.

A change of use planning application to turn The Chequers into two homes was submitted to the district council in March but has yet to be determined.

South Holland MP John Hayes is among those to have objected to that application.