Comedian loses pub conversion proposal

COMEDIAN Russell Brand has had plans to redevelop his pub turned down.

He wanted to convert the Crown at Pishill into offices and build a recording studio in the grounds.

Brand, 48, who lives near Henley and bought the pub four years ago, had sought partial retrospective planning permission.

He wanted the ground and first floors of the 17th century building turned into offices and a barn next door to be used for “community-based purposes” with “a food/drink outlet” in the stables.

More than 50 people and organisations objected with opponents saying they feared losing their “popular watering hole” and “essential” village amenity.

South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, refused permission due to the loss of an essential community facility.

Adrian Duffield, head of planning, said: “This application has failed to demonstrate an acceptable replacement for the lost facility or that the facility is no longer required and is no longer economically viable.”

He said insufficient information had been submitted to demonstrate whether important and protected trees on the site would not be harmed by the proposed development or that it would not cause noise nuisance to neighbours.

Listed building consent has also been turned down by the council.

Brand’s planning agents JPC had said that converting the pub would “deliver and maintain significant economic benefits” as the proposed offices would be used in connection with an established digital media production enterprise.

But Jeremy Tweddle, from Berrick Salome, said: “I consider the Crown to be an asset to the community and surrounding area. It appears that the current owners have bought a public house, made no effort to run it as such and now declare it not viable.”

Michael Barton, from Pishill, said: “Our concerns are the loss of an essential amenity in a village with very limited public amenity space. He has also left the site in a mess with a proliferation of ‘No parking’ signs and cones.

“The applicant has shown total disregard for planning through the unauthorised use as a recording studio plus illegal fencing and unauthorised physical alterations to the garage and its use as a studio.”