About the Campaign

On Tuesday 16 June 2009, the Jolly Anglers was suddenly closed down. It was a thriving local pub. Local residents are furious.

“Pubs like this are part of the glue that holds communities together. We have already lost the Dove, the Plasterers and the Eastgate from the local area and we are all the poorer for it!”

The landlord John Westendorp was given only a few hours notice to close the pub.

Local residents were furious. John had been doing an excellent job of running the pub and had reminded everyone of how good a real community pub can be.

Since then is has transpired that Enterprise Inns sold the pub with a restrictive covenant, preventing it from being run as a pub for two years. (5 days later Ted Tuppen agreed to discontinue this practise).

However, the sale agreement also contains a clause which states that Enterprise Inns would remove the restrictive covenant if the owners applied for planning permission and failed to achieve ‘change of use’.

It is unlikely that the new owners will succeed. A recent similar decision at the Horse & Jockey pub in Reading states refusal of change of use on these grounds:

Policy LEI7 also makes no concessions for situations where a number of similar facilities exist in the vicinity. The policy establishes a threshold at the existing level of leisure facility provision below which the level of leisure provision will not be allowed to fall. The fact that other public houses exist within the surrounding area does not in itself justify the loss of leisure and community use on the application site,

Local residents are furious that they have been treated in this way. This is not just a pub, it a vital community asset. A massive campaign has started up, its aim is to get the pub reopened as soon as possible.

For more information, views, and links to videos see: