Comedian withdraws plan to alter pub

COMEDIAN Russell Brand has withdrawn plans to convert an historic pub before they could be determined.

But South Oxfordshire District Council, the planning authority, had been set to reject the proposal, the Henley Standard can reveal.

Brand, 49, bought The Crown Inn in Pishill in 2020 and wanted to turn it into a recording studio for his online videos and podcasts.

This would have involved converting the first floor into an office with the garage and cottage converted into a filming studio.

The move upset neighbours and former customers and Brand’s production company, Pablo Diablo’s Legitimate Business Firm, recently amended its planning application to retain a “mixed use” of the pub.

But about 20 villagers attended a peaceful protest in a field in Maidensgrove two weeks ago at which they called on the district council to reject the plan.

Brand’s application was withdrawn on Friday last week, the day the council was to make its final decision.

But the council went on to publish its “draft” comments on the proposal which said that the application was going to be refused.

It said Brand’s plan was an “unsuitable form of development which does not result in the suitable expansion or growth of an existing business” and did not meet national planning policy.

The council also said that the proposal would undermine the viability of the pub and questioned the impact of the media production studio on neighbours.

Caroline Dempsey, who lives in Pishill, and is against developing the pub, said the withdrawing of the plan did not feel like a success.

She said: “It was very good to see but I just feel like ‘What’s going to happen next?’, I don’t feel relieved at all.

“I am really happy that the council acknowledged that the conversion of the garage to a studio was totally inappropriate and I hope that’s now off the table for the future.

“It is really nice to have the reassurance that that building, whatever it is used for, won’t be an intrusion into our lives, day or night. As they say, watch this space as I think this is not the end of it by a long way.”

Pishill with Stonor Parish Council also welcomed the withdrawal but said it would have preferred it to be refused on the grounds stated by the district council.

Henley MP Freddie van Mierlo hopes the comments set a precedent for other pub buyers in the area.

He said: “I am very pleased that the application has been withdrawn and that the council recognised the importance of having a viable community pub and I support its role as a pub and place for residents and families and friends to gather.

“The council also noted the potential noise from a recording studio and the impact on neighbours as well. I sincerely hope that the pub can be reopened at some point as a place for residents to use.

“Pubs are under threat for many reasons across the constituency and rural areas where they are vital community assets.

“What definitely doesn’t help is celebrities using them for their own wins and not having a genuine desire to keep it as somewhere for locals to gather and to use, so hopefully this does set down a marker that pubs should, whenever possible, remain as pubs for locals to use and enjoy.”

Lord Camoys, of Stonor Park, who wrote to the council saying a Grampian condition should be included for the pub if it were to be brought back into use, did not wish to comment at this time.