Landlords say they are forced out of village

9:45am Thursday 13th November 2008

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The landlords of the New Inn at Coate, near Devizes, say they have handed in their notice because of the bad vibes created by a planning application.

Dave Conroy and Brian Bennett say that an anonymous objection to their annual bonfire night party was the last straw in a dispute that has split the village.

Mr Conroy said: “This is tearing the village apart and we just can’t take any more. It has created a very bad atmosphere.

“We just can’t stand any more of this constant arguing about it. People can’t talk about it sensibly. It always ends up as a screaming match though so far there hasn’t been any fisticuffs.”

Bishops Cannings Youth Football Club used to play weekend matches in the field beside the pub but brewers Wadworth which owns the New Inn, gave them their marching orders following complaints from Mr Conroy and Mr Bennett.

The club has been playing matches at Green Lane pitches in Devizes but put in an application to construct a pitch with changing rooms in a field at Puddles Lane, Coate.

Kennet District Council has received 82 letters of representation, mostly objecting to the application, and two petitions containing a total of 139 signatures, also against the scheme.

Mr Conroy said: “I am against the idea, but that is not the point. People should be able to discuss their differences in a civilised way, not by screaming at each other. It has definitely ruined the village for us.”

The two men have embraced the slightly Bohemian atmosphere at the pub, reinstating such madcap events as a chariot race and the recreation of a Lancaster bomber using human bodies. Their next event will be a silly games night on November 28 when granny racing will be one of the activities.

Their bonfire night only went ahead after they appealed against Kennet District Council’s decision to impose health and safety regulations, following a complaint that spectators would not be far enough away from the fireworks.

Mr Conroy said: “We will be very sorry to leave. We have really enjoyed most of our two and a half years here.”

They will be moving on to another Wadworth pub, near Wookey Hole in Somerset.

Wadworth chairman Charles Bartholomew said: “It is very sad they have decided to leave. They have been the best licensees we’ve had in the village for some time.

“They have got us to build them a new skittle alley and they have done the pub a lot of good. I am glad we shall be retaining their services, albeit at another of our pubs.”

Barbara Larkin, secretary of the Bishops Cannings Youth Football Club, said: “This has come as a real surprise. We had no idea they were thinking of leaving.

“We know this application has made the village very unhappy, but it is not true to say most people are against it.

“Some are for it but don’t want to put their heads above the parapet for fear of more unpleasantness.”

One resident, who asked not to be named, said Mr Conroy is over-reacting to the situation.

He said: “There are very few arguments. The vast majority of people who go to the pub are against the application, so there has only ever been one argument.”