The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
A 200-year-old pub looks set to be turned into homes after a council stripped it of its listing as ‘a community asset’.
The Chequers in Gedney Dyke is thought to have been the site of a pub since 1793, but its doors were closed for the final time on Christmas Eve 2017 with the owner claiming it was no longer financially viable.
A planning application submitted a few months later led to a Save The Chequers campaign being set up with around 80 people attending a public meeting.
The group successfully campaigned for it to be listed as an Asset Of Community Value in August 2018 which in theory gives the local community first option to purchase the pub if it goes to market for at least five years.
An offer from the community and one by another pub company were both rejected and last year a new planning application to turn it into two homes was passed by South Holland District Council.
Now the authority has decided to strip The Chequers of its Asset of Community Value a year early.
In the listing of the decision that was made behind closed doors, the authority said “the building no longer meets the legal tests”.
The notice of the decision states: “It is no longer realistic to think that there is a time in the next five years when there could be a non-ancillary use of the building or land that would further (whether or not in the same way as before) the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community.”
The Save The Chequers campaign group website no longer works and its Facebook page hasn’t been updated since 2018.
The Voice tried to contact some of the members of the group but hadn’t received any responses at the time of going to press.
Gedney Dyke Parish Council supported last year’s planning permission which was also decided behind closed doors.
The planning officer’s report stated: “The applicant has indicated that it was not well supported by locals.
“It is not within a popular tourist area and is not well served by public transport.
“Recent financial accounts indicate that the public house was suffering a financial loss and that it was not financially viable.
“It reflects the general decline in the UK pub sector over recent years.
“It is considered that these negative factors outweigh other matters in favour of retaining the facility and that it is no longer sustainable/viable.”
