Open Meeting at 11 am on Saturday 15th November 2015 Concerning The Seven Tuns Pub, Chedworth Held in Chedworth Village Hall Present Approximately 70 people were present Purposes of the Meeting Update those present, and through these notes, the community as whole, about what has taken place since the last Open Meeting held on 13th March 2014. Elect an Action Group to act on behalf of the community in activities that aim to result in The Seven Tuns reopening. Discuss ideas and opportunities for the Action Group to work on. Opening Remarks David Broad welcomed everyone to the meeting. He will be the point of contact between the Chedworth Parish Council and the Action Group. Patricia Langley introduced herself. Although a resident of Winson, she believes very strongly that The Seven Tuns should be operating again and is prepared to offer her efforts, expertise, experience and connections to this cause. Updates Martin Harrison introduced himself. Fleurets (the agent handling the lease of The Seven Tuns) had now re-advertised the lease because negotiations with a preferred tenant had failed. He then went through the document produced by Parish Councillor John King: Essentially the situation remains very much the same as it has been for the past few months, namely the owners say that they have an approved leaseholder applicant in place but that they are waiting for the outcome of a legal process regarding the previous maintenance of the property. The construction work to replace the sewage system has been partly completed but is held up currently for engineering reasons. But they say that they are still committed to re-opening the Seven Tuns. After much discussion about the importance of the Seven Tuns to the community and the major concerns & frustrations about the very long time it is taking to resolve the situation, it was agreed that the Friends of the Seven Tuns team would work under the umbrella of the Parish Council. It was felt that this would provide a more effective and cohesive approach, David Broad has agreed to be the Parish Council lead for this. The next step will be for the team to formulate a plan and explore a number of ideas including organising a petition, publicity via our MP, compulsory purchase, community ownership etc. The intention would be to then hold another public meeting to discuss these and seek commitment from the whole community. Further remarks were then made from those present. These included: Christopher Stainforth said that he had introduced Tim Hamilton (of The Manor), who was not present, to people within the Reubens Brothers organisation, owners of the Wellington Pub Company that in turn owns The Seven Tuns. As a result Tim Hamilton has had quite a bit of contact with people within the Reubens Brothers organisation. Christopher felt that the Action Group should have access to these contacts, working together with Tim rather than have separate uncoordinated efforts being made. He therefore suggested that he, Christopher, should get together with Tim and Patricia so that Patricia had the same access as Tim. A potential landlord, Will Walmsley, said that he was being offered reduced terms if he leased the pub. These were 6 months rent free with a further discount period. Over £70k was being spent on improving the sewage treatment. Patricia Langley said that there had been no response to her enquiries to the Wellington Pub Company about the pub. Adrian Bell commented that the company has been equally uncommunicative with groups seeking to discuss matters related to other pubs owned by the company. Neil Kenning asked if there was any legal mechanism that would oblige Wellington Pub Company to restore the pub. Doug Foster pointed out that the owners would not have placed a new septic tank in the middle of the car park if they were thinking of building on the site. The significance of having the pub as a Community asset was explained, namely that it gave the village a “stay of execution” of 6 months before the asset could be sold. However it did not give the community a right to buy it. Will Walmsley said that he expected to receive a survey report from the agents, Fleurets, and would pass a copy on to the Action Group. Election of Action Group The meeting unanimously elected (number of years lived in Chedworth): Patricia Langley (Chair) Martin Harrison (10) Nigel Eastman (3) Adrian Bell (Chedworth Parish Councillor) (8) Cate Thacker (26) Christopher Stainforth (28) Peter Seymour (27) Iain Robertson (2) to be members of the Action Group. All members except Patricia are Chedworth residents. Discussion of next steps Ideas that were then put forward included: Christopher Stainforth volunteered to organise a meeting between Tim Hamilton (Manor House), Patricia Langley and himself whose purpose would be to contact Simon Reubens to persuade him to help re-open The Seven Tuns. Organise a petition from the village and others. The petition would be presented to the Wellington Pub Company as a demonstration of the strength of feeling in the community. The village acting as the tenant/landlord for a year in order to demonstrate its viability and to bring the facility such a pub offers back into Chedworth. The village to do what it can to support potential tenants during their application for tenancy. Support should be given to all possible tenants and not to favour any particular tenant. Encourage the traditional Boxing Day Mummers plus as many villagers as possible to visit The Seven Tuns this Boxing Day letting national and local media know of our plight. The Plunkett Organisation could be approached to see how we might use their services and support. Will Walmsley reiterated that dealing with the dilapidations will be a significant challenge and need to be addressed whoever takes on the pub. He visited the pub the day before and found it in a worse condition that he anticipated. Patricia Langley and David Broad will seek a meeting with Cotswold District Council planners to explore both its listing status and state of repair, and to discuss understand their view on possible change of use. Establishing an email newsletter list to keep the community informed. Iain Robertson asked those present to email their email addresses to [email protected] and they will be included on this mailing list. Summary Patricia Langley summarised the meeting saying: The Wellington Pub Company and Fleurets should make every effort to find a deal that works for a tenant. If the Wellington Pub Company cannot find a tenant then they should be persuaded to sell the pub. The feeling of those present is that it wants The Seven Tuns to reopen and the community will fight to bring this about. The meeting closed at approximately 12.15.
Posted on: Sun, 23 Nov 2014 10:06:13 +0000
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