Let’s save The Bell.
The Bell isn’t just a pub—it’s a cornerstone of our community. It’s where neighbours meet, milestones are celebrated, and the everyday feels special.
A developer wants to take that away. We believe The Bell and the Bourtons community deserves better.
The developer has lodged his appeal
The appeal has landed!
The developer has appealed the council’s decision to reject his planning application. The appeal will now be decided by the Planning Inspectorate. You can find the appeal statement here.
The main grounds put forward in the appeal are:
Planning Application Justification: The proposal was fully justified in the submitted planning application.
Financial Viability: The Appellant has robustly demonstrated that re-opening the public house and sustaining viable trading in the long term is not financially viable. This was presented in the planning application and is re-presented in this appeal to comply with saved Policy S29 of the Cherwell Local Plan 1996.
Social and Economic Wellbeing: The loss of the community facility does not result in significant harm to the social and economic well-being of the village and there is no conflict with saved Policy S29 and NPPF paragraph 98.
However, the councillors—who voted unanimously against the original application—and the 230 people who objected made it clear they strongly disagree. The suggestion that losing this valued community facility would not harm the village’s social and economic well-being is simply not supported by the reality we all see and experience.
What’s more, the developer has again chosen not to meet the planning policy requirement to prove financial non-viability. Instead, he has submitted an updated financial viability report, which he describes as a “robust demonstration.” We at STBIG firmly disagree with this claim.
If you objected to the original application, you should have received an email from CDC informing you about the appeal. We now have until October 15th to submit comments directly to the Planning Inspectorate.
This is our opportunity to show, once again, how much this matters to our community. Every comment helps demonstrate the strength of local opposition.
👉 Please take a few minutes to make your voice heard. The direct link to the online form is here. Simply click the green button “Make representation” in the top right corner to open the form.
Together, we can make sure the inspector understands just how important this facility is to our village.
Next Steps
STBIG are preparing a full response to the appeal statement, which we’ll submit to the Planning Inspectorate by October 15th. We encourage everyone in the community to do the same.
Since CDC originally refused the planning application, it’s their responsibility to defend this decision — otherwise they could face costs from the developer. We therefore expect their legal team to challenge the grounds put forward in the appeal.
The developer will then have until October 29th to reply to any comments.
As this is a written appeal, there will be no hearing. The Inspectorate will review all submissions and then make a final decision.
The road to community pub ownership is rarely short or without bumps. But we are on it!
Thank you
Please Donate to our GoFundMe Campaign
To-date the campaign has been self-funded by STBIG volunteers, however as we try to set up negotiations with the owner and before we can formally set up a community benefit society to raise funds to purchase the pub, we recognise that we do need to raise a modest 'fighting' fund to cover anticipated costs such as:
Independent property valuation
Legal costs in setting up the community benefit society
Creation of a community share offer prospectus
Click Here to Donate
What does ACV status mean and how can it help?
STBIG and The Parish Council have successfully defended the pub's Asset of Community Value ('ACV') status against the developer's recent appeal.
Whilst extremely helpful in our efforts to object to the application the ACV status does not automatically mean that the application will be refused.
Under the terms of the legislation, registration as an asset of community value covers three aspects:
Material planning consideration: although not part of the enacted legislation, the ACV status may be a material consideration in a planning application and may be used by the local planning authority and Planning Inspectorate as a factor in refusing planning permission for full or partial change of use or demolition. The government guidance document Community Right to Bid: Non-statutory advice note for local authorities supported by Don Foster MP introduced this right, however under the provision that it is open to the local planning authority to decide whether listing as an asset of community value is a material consideration if an application for change of use is submitted, considering all the circumstances of the case.
Community right to bid: a moratorium imposes a pause on a sale for up to six months to allow the local community a chance to raise funds and submit an offer to purchase the property. The owner however is under no obligation to accept the offer or for the community to be treated as a preferential bidder.
Compulsory purchase rights: an ACV-registered building can be compulsorily purchased by the local authority or council "if the asset is under threat of long-term loss to the community".