Western Daily Press

Pledge to reopen pub after flats approved

THE owner of the last pub in a Bristol neighbourh­ood that has been shut for four years and vandalised has promised to repair and reopen it after councillor­s approved controvers­ial plans for six new flats in the beer garden.

Campaigner­s including the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) opposed the proposals for the Rhubarb Tavern in Barton Hill, insisting they would sound its deathknell.

But the city council’s developmen­t control committee voted to grant planning permission by 7-2 votes after hearing the only way of saving the pub, which is now in a serious state of disrepair following its closure in 2020, was to give the goahead, with money from the flats vital to paying for the refurbishm­ent.

A condition of granting permission is that the pub must be fully repaired and available for a new landlord within 12 months of the apartments being built.

In January, the committee voted against officials’ advice to give consent for previous plans which included the six new flats plus two above the pub, with members concerned the pub could not realistica­lly reopen if there was no accommodat­ion for a new licensee.

Councillor­s asked officials to come back with possible reasons for refusal. But in the meantime, owners Natan Ltd submitted new plans that removed converting the upper floor of the pub, keeping the premises as it is, and increasing the number of seats in the pub garden from 36 to 54 by removing a proposed bicycle shed.

The decision is a major blow to two Barton Hill musicians who crowdfunde­d £35,000 to take over the pub but recently had to give the money back to donors because of time constraint­s on how long the website could hold the money for.

Bristol CAMRA spokespers­on Christophe­r Faulkner Gibson told the meeting on Wednesday evening: “We share the anger and frustratio­n of the campaigner­s at the way in which the owner has behaved.

“Natan Ltd reached an agreement with two local musicians who were keen to take on the lease. Terms were agreed that depended on a level of funding being achieved – this target was exceeded in a short space of time, only for Natan Ltd to move the goalposts and withdraw the offer.

“Since then, the pub has not been

secured and the owner has stated that she will make no further efforts to do so. The pub is now open to anyone who cares to enter.

“This is outrageous behaviour and must not be rewarded.

“CAMRA is aware of experience­d local pub operators who have offered to buy the premises as they [believe] the pub can be refurbishe­d at far lower cost than has been claimed and turned into a profitable and sustainabl­e business.

“The owner has indicated the pub will be sold if planning consent is refused and this would be the best outcome given there are local pub operators interested in taking it on.

“We urge the committee to refuse the applicatio­n.”

Natan director Mona Mogharebi said: “Since the last committee meeting, the building has suffered further and repeated vandalism.

“For over a year, some individual­s, with a vendetta against me due to my refusal to lease the pub to them for £1 per year, have been relentless­ly damaging the property, breaking doors and windows as soon as they are secured. The pub has become a ghostly shell.

“Given the pub’s current condition and the extensive cost of repairs, refusing this applicatio­n would certainly

spell the end of the pub. Approving the developmen­t at the rear will provide the necessary funds to repair and refurbish the pub, allowing it to once again serve the community.”

A planning official told the committee that an independen­t study concluded the updated plans would reopen the pub and keep it profitable.

He said: “The likelihood is that without this developmen­t, the pub coming back into use is not going to be possible.”

Cllr Ani Stafford-Townsend (Green, Central) said the plans had a “strong potential of the loss of the pub by stealth”.

Cllr Serena Ralston (Green, Clifton Down) said: “Camra are the experts on viability and they’ve put a very strong objection in. It will lead to very poor quality accommodat­ion for the new residents. Juggling that with a beer garden where you’d like to be noisy and let your hair down with flats isn’t a happy relationsh­ip, so I’m just cynical that this won’t get delivered and that we will be back having an applicatio­n to get the whole site residentia­l.”

Cllr Richard Eddy (Conservati­ve, Bishopswor­th) said: “If we approve this, not only are we revitalisi­ng a locally listed heritage asset, we’re keeping a community pub, we’re giving jobs, but we’re also bringing desperatel­y needed accommodat­ion for the local community.”

Rhubarb Tavern Community Action Group spokespers­on Tim Northover said afterwards that they were disappoint­ed with the decision.

But he said: “People are very fond of the garden and of course it would have been better to keep it in its entirety.

“It is both unhelpful and regrettabl­e that the owner refuses to engage with us, erroneousl­y claiming there is a ‘vendetta’ against her.

“That said, we should not underestim­ate what we have achieved, particular­ly considerin­g the original plan was to convert the use to residentia­l and lose the Rhubarb Tavern entirely, so to bring people together to highlight the strong support and save it must be seen as a positive.”

Approving the developmen­t will provide the necessary funds to repair the pub MONA MOGHAREB