Village pub near Swindon could disappear for housing
The owner of the Vale of the White Horse in Minety has applied for permission to transform the pub into flats
Last updated 31st May 2022
A pub in a village a few miles from Swindon could disappear for housing.
And it looks certain that residents there will not be best pleased.
The owner of the Vale of the White Horse in Minety, Jamie Denman has applied for permission to transform and remodel the pub in Station Road into seven flats.
Mr Denman’s application says: “Minety is provided with another public house, the Turnpike Inn, which is found closer to the village centre as well as the Minety Playing Fields Association “Club House” in the centre of the village and the Village Hall.”
Mr Denman, who took over the business in 2002 says the pub is no longer a going concern: “the business has been running at a loss for the past five years, has not provided the applicant any wage and no one is interested in purchasing the business.
“It is still on the market with no prospective purchasers interested and with no offers having been received in the over two years and seven months of marketing. Therefore, despite all of the applicant’s best efforts it seems clear that a public house in this location is no longer viable.”
He now wants to develop the building to put a 4-bedrrom flat in the attic, two three-beds in the semi-basement and tow two-bed apartments on the ground and first floors.
The external appearance of the building will remain largely unchanged, with real windows replacing a number of either fake windows or blank window recesses.
Every flat will have parking.
The application expresses some regret that the pub is no longer economically viable – and says the housing scheme is the best use of the existing building.
But not all the villagers agree with Mr Denman’s statement that Minety is well served by other pubs.
One has written to County Hall planners and said: “Despite what’s stated in the application the village is not and cannot be adequately served by the Turnpike and the MPFA clubhouse.
“The Vale is the only viable option as a village pub at this time.
“There are plenty of thriving pubs in local villages – it’s a shame that the vale isn’t one of them at present. To lose such a valuable village resource would be terrible for Minety.
Comments should be emailed to Wiltshire Council. Details of the application can be found on Wiltshire.gov.uk using reference PL/2022/03150