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Search the Public Notice PortalA Wiltshire landlord who hit national headlines after he decorated the front of his pub with a building-sized St George cross is hoping he will be allowed to keep it.
Jerry Kunkler, of the Moonrakers Inn in Pewsey, painted the red cross on the exterior of his white pub - a listed building - ten years ago.
But following a complaint amid flags being erected across England as part of the Operation Raise the Colours campaign, he was informed by Wiltshire Council - on which he represents the village of Pewsey - that he was in breach of planning legislation.
The complainant said the pub looked like "the headquarters of the National Front."
This week, an application for retrospective planning consent was accepted by Wiltshire Council.
In a statement to planners, Cllr Kunkler said: "I arranged for the painting of the cross up in 2016 for the football World Cup finals in Japan.
"Apart from the two years of Covid, the red cross has been on the pub for over nine years. Nothing's been said about it until now.
"The Moonrakers Inn is a sports bar, and I support everything England and this pub has been a venue for all those who want to watch England play, whether it is in the men’s or women’s football World Cup, men’s or women’s rugby World Cup and Six Nations, and of course the men’s and women’s Euros."
And he insisted: "This is all about the controversy around the flags. This has nothing to do with Operation Raise the Flag."
A heritage statement that accompanies the application states: "None of the proposed changes are considered to be harmful to the significance of this Grade II listed building."
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Cllr Kunkler celebrates 45 years behind the bar at the pub, which is known locally as The Moonies.
It's not the first time Cllr Kunkler has fallen foul of the local planning department. In 1987 he mounted a CCTV camera outside the pub, and was told he needed planning permission five years later when it was spotted by a council planning officer.
The 17th century pub was an inspiration for the award-winning play Jerusalem.
Playright Jez Butterwoth wrote the West End smash after meeting builder Micky Lay when he lived in Pewsey in the 1990s.
Mr Lay was the inspiration for Johnny 'Rooster' Byron, and the role won Wolf Hall actor Mark Rylance an Olivier Award and a Tony Award.
More recently, constituency MP Danny Kruger filmed a promotional video at the pub after defecting from the Conservatives to Reform - to the consternation of many Tories.
A decision by Wiltshire Council is expected by March.
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