Longest-serving Wiltshire councillor faces action over St George cross on pub
The St George cross was painted on a listed building without planning permission.
Last updated 11th Nov 2025
Wiltshire Council might take enforcement action over its joint longest-serving councillor, who has painted a St George cross on a listed building without planning permission.
Jerry Kunkler, landlord of the Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey, painted the red cross on the exterior of his white pub in 2022.
But this week he received a notification from Wiltshire Council that it was investigating a breach of planning legislation.
“I put the cross up in 2022 for the World Cup in the Middle East,” Cllr Kunkler told the Local Democracy Reporting Service, “and nothing’s been said about it until now.”
“This is a sports bar, and I support everything England,” he said. “I’m leaving it up for the Six Nations and the World Cup.”
Responding to a complaint from an anonymous local, who said the pub looked like “the headquarters of the National Front” he said: “This is all about the controversy around the flags. This has nothing to do with Operation Raise the Flag.”
The Conservative councillor, who was elected to Kennet District Council in 1995 and Wiltshire Council in 2009, said: “I’m looking at the rules. If the council says I need planning permission I’ll apply for it.”
Next year, Cllr Kunkler celebrates 45 years behind the bar at the pub, which is known locally as The Moonies.
It’s not the first time Cllr Kunkler has fallen foul of the local planning department. In 1987 he mounted a CCTV camera outside the pub, and was told he needed planning permission five years later when it was spotted by a council planning officer.
The 17th century pub was an inspiration for the award-winning play Jerusalem.
Playright Jez Butterwoth wrote the West End smash after meeting builder Micky Lay when he lived in Pewsey in the 1990s.
Mr Lay was the inspiration for Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron, and the role won Wolf Hall actor Mark Rylance an Olivier Award and a Tony Award.
Mr Lay died in January 2014 after collapsing outside The Moonies as he waited for the pub to open.
More recently, constituency MP Danny Kruger filmed a promotional video at the pub after defecting from the Conservatives to Reform – to the consternation of many Tories.
Mr Kruger was filmed outside the pub and pulling pints inside.
This week Adrian Foster, cabinet member for planning at Wiltshire Council told the LDRS: “The Moonrakers at 57 High Street in Pewsey is a Grade II listed building within the Pewsey Conservation Area.
“Listed Building Consent is sometimes required for external redecoration where there is a change of paint colour.
“The changes reported about this property will be investigated in accordance with the council’s planning enforcement policy.”