Red Lion Hotel Meeting 2018 Minutes
Minutes of Oakford Parish Council Planning Meeting held 22nd August in the Village Hall.
Members present
Chairman Cllr J Phillips Vice Chair Cllr J Mayer Cllr M Baylis Cllr I Fairchild Cllr P Jobson Cllr D Mason Cllr R Stevens
Apologies
These were received from Cllr Rich
Declarations of Interest
Cllr Fairchild objected to none being declared by 2 of the councillors, Cllrs Phillips and Jobson. This was overruled as any personal interest was out with the subject in question, should any connection even exist.
The Public
More than 70 people had attended the open meeting held immediately before hand to discuss the planning submission. About half remained to hear the parish council decision.
Richard Sloggett said that Mr Cooling might well have spent £150K in renovation to the property but that he should offset this apparent loss of expenditure with the rent he had received. Any realistic sale would not be such a dramatic loss as was implied.
Paul Chapple wished to remind the parish council of their duty to reflect the wishes of the parishioners.
Laura Hurley wondered as the business had been successful of late why was a “Change of Use” being considered. The current use of the property is in conflict with residential planning regulations.
Planning Application
18/01103/FULL & 18/01104/LBC Change of Use to that of residential status at the Red Lion Hotel, Oakford.
The discussion went as follows -: Cllr Fairchild’s parents had been publicans and he understood such premises rely on plenty of customer support. Cllr Phillips said that 40 of the 62 immediate residents had used the pub on a regular basis. Cllr Mayer said that Oakford was only a small community and that some of the past turnover figures quoted were largely irrelevant. Cllr Mason felt that parking had always been an issue and that the trading figures should be verified before taking any decision. Cllr Stevens felt that the obvious support shown by the public turnout justified persevering to keep the pub. Cllr Mayer reiterated what had been said already and was in favour of keeping the pub going. Was the historical listing of the building not important? Cllr Jobson was worried about the village losing another valuable asset. He thought that The Masons Arms was an example of how a business could be turned around with the right management. Cllr Baylis had moved to Oakford in 2014 and seen firsthand the pub run by 2 different landlords. She was interested to know the definition of a B&B as opposed to that of “multiple occupation”.
A vote was taken on 18/01103/FULL 1 in favour of Change of Use, 1 abstention and 5 votes to oppose the application
A vote was taken on 18/01104/LBC There were 2 abstentions and 5 votes against the application concerning a listed building.
A detailed letter of objection to both plans will be sent to MDDC Planning Department.
The Chairman then proposed to list The Red Lion as a Community Asset of Value, seconded by Cllr Jobson. Any such listing would be valid for 5 years and gave a 6 months extension for a buyer to come forward.
The motion was passed by 6 votes in favour, 1 abstention.