We won’t hang up towel in fight for our pub

9:10pm Tuesday 18th September 2012 in News By Tarik Al Rasheed

PEOPLE in West Malvern are presenting a united front against plans to demolish part of a pub that has been shut for 18 months.

The function room of the Lamb Inn, a major part of the pub and its main facade on to West Malvern Road look set to be knocked down.

West Malvern Parish Council voted unanimously against a planning application to create two two-bedroom homes in the pub’s garden.

Bill Shearer, chairman of the parish council, said they will submit an objection to Malvern Hills District Council , which will decide the application on the grounds of loss of amenity and a lack of parking. “We just feel that it would be another amenity lost in the village – all the shops are gone – and anyone living down that end would have a long walk to the pub.

“We have just got to leave it to the planners and in their wisdom they will decide what’s the best outcome.”

The pub was bought 18 months ago by developer Peter Styles and has remained closed since then. Two planning applications for partial or complete conversion of the premises into homes have already been turned down. Andrew Boughton, of Mr Styles’s planning agents Boughton Butler, said planning permission is not needed to take down the function room as it constitutes an alteration and the Lamb is not listed or in a conservation area.

“That part of the building is not in good condition and it serves no purpose. I have heard a lot of people saying the pub would be viable as a business, but no one has come forward with a realistic business plan showing how it could be run.”

Mark Haslam, public affairs and campaign officer for pubs and beer campaign group Camra, questioned what attempts to sell the pub had been made. He said: “We have always maintained under the current ownership the future of the pub is not viable. They have constantly refused to market it, kept it closed and won’t sell it on.”

Comments(8)

Jabbadad says...
9:21am Wed 19 Sep 12

Vocal campaigners like Camra are quick to criticise when pubs are closing from not being a viable business. However again I don't see any offers from Camra or enraged locals to buy and run this Pub. Put your money where your mouth is, and yes I do visit local pubs in fact I ran one for 12 years. Sold real sediment ales, but not served with no head and flat as Camra members would like.

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Jackie Barry says...
9:37am Wed 19 Sep 12

Once again a village pub is sold to a developer who has no real interest in letting it as a pub. Rents are set to high by the landlords who can then go to the council and say " the business is not viable" I am sure the Lamb would do very well if the rent was realistic and business rates were lower. Perhaps if the law is changed (as has been suggested )and landlords are made to pay rates on empty buildings they will re consider the business sense in keeping a building empty. At present it costs them nothing to leave the building empty.I seem to recall ( forgive me if I am wrong) but Jabbadad was very vocal in the Deers Leap debate. Another business that was doing very well but sold by the landlords for re development. People are not coming forward to run the Lamb because, as stated, I expect the rent and rates are to high to make it viable. Great shame we are seeing so many traditional british pubs closing down. .

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Jabbadad says...
9:49am Wed 19 Sep 12

Yes I agree Jackie, since huge rent rises were the main reason for me leaving the trade. And yes I did reply over the loss of the Deers Leap, but mainly to reply to those who in supporting you became very abusive.
I did also wish you well in the future then and still do so.

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Arthur Blenkinsop says...
10:48am Wed 19 Sep 12

I used to visit the Lamb regularly, i lived down the road in the 70s and 80 when it was a very busy place. It has however always, or nearly always, been very nearly empty when i have visited over the past 10 years or so. No pub business can survive without customers, whether the rent be high or low. And, it is my understanding that a lot of the very 'locals' spent a lot of time complaining about the noise from the pub when they put functions on, rather than visiting it for a pint or two. It is a shame that it will eventually go for cheap-rent flats, but that has to be better than a boarded up, slowly deteriorating building in the middle of a community.

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upinthehills says...
11:47am Wed 19 Sep 12

To permanently lose a long running pub due to a 10 year or so fall in trade seems wrong. Imagine if we applied that rule to football teams!

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Arthur Blenkinsop says...
12:05pm Wed 19 Sep 12

upinthehills wrote:
To permanently lose a long running pub due to a 10 year or so fall in trade seems wrong. Imagine if we applied that rule to football teams!
In my opinion it should apply to football teams!
It is a shame, and as a pub goer, i hate to see pubs close for good. But, who pays the bills if there is no money coming in? There have been 3 or 4 changes in landlord at the lamb over the past 10 or so years, each promising to do better and keep the place open - for whatever the reasons, all have failed. They need local support, and they need a reason for people to go there, especially in the winter months when people tend to stay at home more - it is not enough to just open the doors and expect people to flood in. Functions, food, promotions etc. have all been tried there for a long time, and apart from the odd success, they have not been that well supported, or put on often enough to make people want to keep going back there. Being a landlord is very very hard work and as Jabbadad knows, that, coupled with battling the ever-greedier and ruthless breweries is often too much to take on.

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Andy1955 says...
1:07pm Wed 19 Sep 12

It's good to see some sense being talked about the Lamb for a change..
I too am an ex-landlord and an old Lamb local. It was sad to see the demise over the years of the weekday trade. It's fine for everyone to want it re-opened, but when it was open it was only busy once or twice a week. (when they had music on) which had to be paid for!
The rest of the week two or three 'locals' were the only customers. Many, many pubs are closing every week, because they are not supported by the local community or the 'Pubco's' Paying massive rent and paying twice the market price for their beers, wines and spirits.
Long standing landlord Colin stuck with it, trying everything to keep it open, putting up with the never ending complaints from the neghbors, eventually the police blamed the Pub for a series of cases of vandalism on cars in the area.. This resulted in him being asked to leave... Two weeks after he left, a culprit was discovered and charged. Mmmm. Coincidence???

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Jabbadad says...
2:44pm Wed 19 Sep 12

I also like access to a local with good beer, but the changes in the pub trade started during the 70s with the Wine Bars which we old landlords wrongfully said would be a flash in the pan. And the trade were the younger crowd who lived at home and had loads of money.
We also had a very healthy early evening trade, and cometh (rightfully so) the Don't Drink and Drive laws and Breathalysers, soon put an end to this passing trade of office workers and businessmen who liked to call in on the way home have a few drinks then go home to spend the rest of the evening with the family.
And I also recall the reason used by the politicians for extended opening hours were that anyone working shifts could also enjoy a drink after work.
The older longer serving, most successful landlords used to say that any landlord should move onto a new pub after 3 years, since you and the pub, start to become stale. I obviously knew better but they were right for some years later I didn't want to go behind the Bar to see the same faces coming in at the same time.
Holidays when you had relief staff in cost more than closing (but we weren't allowed to).
And yet just as Jackie says we had some brilliant times.
We never considered going back into the trade though.

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