Updates & Next Steps

Download your own Save The Bell posters here to show your support for our campaign.

The developer has been removing the campaign posters that we have placed in public places around the village so hopefully by placing them on your private property this will discourage this childish and petty behaviour. We do have some wooden signs and pre-printed posters available as well, please contact one of the STBIG team if you want one.

The date for comments on the application has passed and the portal is accepting no further comments. This may change and we will keep you informed of this.

Thanks to the huge level of community support evidenced by the 240 objections received, the application has indeed been ‘called in’ to a public planning meeting. This meeting will be open to the public and now that the council have their own financial viability report published on the planning portal we expect that it will be discussed at the 15th May meeting at 4pm. This will be confirmed once the agenda is published around 8th May. The venue will be the new council HQ at 39 Castle Quay, Banbury, OX16 5FD. We urge those that are available to try to attend the meeting.

At that planning meeting those objecting to the application will have a total of 5 minutes to present their case. We at the Save The Bell Inn group are planning to attend and present our case, should you also be planning to speak please get in touch so we can coordinate and make best use of this 5 minute slot.

The Asset of Community Value application has been approved and we hope to see that listed on the council website very soon.

If the developers planning application is approved, the developer will be allowed to convert the pub into a house and then either live there, or sell it on at a significant profit. Our belief is that he also intends to develop the car park for further housing once change of use for the pub has been granted.

If the planning application is not approved, then the developer may appeal. STBIG would at this point step up efforts to persuade the developer to sell the pub back to the community.

Should he be willing to sell to the village at this point we will start to raise funds, this is likely to be via a mixture of grants, community shares, and finance.

We will be preparing a detailed business plan and prospective for people to consider the purchase of community shares.

STBIG have proactively contacted the developer Mr Day to open a dialogue on the future of the pub should the planning be refused, via email, letter and in person however he has stated that he will not engage in any discussion with The Save The bell Inn group nor the Parish Council. Lets hope that this will change should the planning be refused, especially given the option of compulsory purchase granted to the local council via the ACV status should the asset be at long term risk of loss to the community.