An Update on Progress at the Cherington Arms from Martin Craddock.

‘I thought I should let you know how things are going with our pub. The short answer is, not well. It’s going to take longer than I thought and the consultation delays and costs mean it’s going to be significantly more than I budgeted. But the pub will re-open.

I appointed builders in November and they started work around 1 December and they’re doing a really good job…at least they were.

A few weeks in, Stratford District Council told me that someone had seen the scaffolding going up and had called them. As a result, their Enforcement Officer got involved and required any structural work to stop immediately because the pub is Grade 2 listed. Of course, it’s up to me to know that, and I did, but I wrongly assumed because only the pub at the front of the property is listed, that we could tidy up the rear garden and improve the restaurant & cottage at the rear – basically all the eyesores!

I have now learned that, because the pub is listed, everything (including the eyesores) within the curtilage of the property, which also extends to the car park, is listed. This means, for example, that we can’t replace any fencing in the garden or move the LPG tank further back and out of the line of sight. Basically, we can’t touch anything. What we can do is to repair and redecorate.

I also have to appoint a specialist conservation architect, produce full structural drawings and provide various reports and surveys which will add around £25,000 to the costs. That hurts. But my best estimate, when I add in all the consultation delays, is that it will take around seven months to obtain the relevant permissions and this will significantly delay the re-opening of the pub.

I’ll work with my various advisors and we’ll do the best we can to get the pub open again in some form while we wait for Stratford DC to issue the relevant permissions.’

Martin Craddock
19 January