An old pub could soon be turned into housing, after the tenants criticised the local village for its “failure” to support their business.

The Horse & Harrow in West Hagbourne, near Didcot, could be converted into a three-bed home and a four-bed home.

Two new homes could also be built adjacent to the pub on Main Street.

Helen Hughes, who ranhas run the pub for 12 years with her husband Tony Baldasera, said the lack of support from the village had contributed to the downturn in business.

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“The village has time and again chose alternative venues to host community celebrations, and in doing so overlooked the Horse and Harrow for what it could have been, which is a true community meeting place,” she said in a letter, dated from April, that was included in the plans.

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Other venues had instead been picked for community events, she added, such as the George and Dragon in Upton, which hosts a monthly village lunch club, and York Farm, which held a Queen’s Diamond Jubilee party in 2012.

Ms Hughes said it showed a “failure of the village to support our business.”

She also blamed the downturn in trade on the Covid pandemic, competition from nearby pubs and a “small and dated kitchen” which meant the tenants could not “pivot our business towards a more ‘gastropub’ type of offering.”

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In April this year, a similar application for a house conversion was refused by South Oxfordshire District Council after objections from villagers and local organisations.

This time the applicant, Cordage 7, a Portsmouth-based company, has applied to a different planning authority, Vale of White Horse District Council.

The application is now in a consultation period with a target decision date of October 27.

Included in the new plans is a viability study by Savills from October 2022, which found the pub was “unviable” as a business.

Oxford Mail:

The report said: “Public houses, such as The Horse & Harrow, have suffered more than others since the economic downturn of 2008 due to them not having the economies of scale to compete with the large managed house operations.

“The property only has a small kitchen, with limited internal cover numbers. It is therefore unlikely to attract much ‘destination’ custom especially with the significant lack of parking spaces, and instead had to rely on the local population which has not supported the business sufficiently.

“There are better located venues with superior facilities within close proximity.”