Tearooms wins battle to remain open in former pub

A poetry reading at a council meeting has helped a tea shop to continue operating in a former pub.

Codford Tea Rooms has been operating from the former George Hotel near Warminster for five years after the tenant found it was "impossible to cover costs as a public house".

Owners, Four Counties Inns, sought retroactive planning permission from Wiltshire Council for change of use, so it could run as a café rather than a pub.

Despite planning recommendations to reject the application, it was approved, with councillors saying they wanted to support the venue.

One of the staff members, Lizzie Leigh, also known as the tea poet, read out a piece of her work to the planning committee meeting.

It included references to other bars in the area as well as all the locals who visit, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

From carers who come for cake to mothers who bring their children, the poem said more than 130 people used the venue each week.

Ms Leigh told the BBC that the "primary focus is friendship and food and intimacy".

"A lot of our customers are ladies. We hear it every day - 'if this was a pub I wouldn't come here. I wouldn't feel comfortable'."

Planning officers had not been convinced that the owners had done everything possible to keep going as a pub.

Council rules were designed to stop pubs from changing use unless it is clear the business is not viable.

The tenant, Kyriakos Christodoulou, known locally as Kevin, told the planning committee that he realised in the pandemic that his business could only carry on if he changed the use.

"I took a chance and invested my own money to renovate the property.

"Local people approached me and said 'this is looking great. We can't wait for it to open'. Five years on we are still here," he said.

While it was recommended to reject the application, it was noted by committee that "the applicant has found a way of making the premises viable. A supportive thing to do would be to grant permission with conditions".

The application was approved, but with conditions, including the possibility that future owners can re-apply to have it turned back into a pub.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.