Community asset bid for Kings Head near Stroud rejected

Plans to grant the Kings Head in King's Stanley an asset of community value have been denied by Stroud District Council. 

The pub - which has been a landmark in the village for more than 100 years - is currently closed and has been for more than six months. 

The proposal was submitted in November last year by King's Stanley Parish Council amid concerns in the village about the future of the premises.

An asset of community value - known as an ACV - is a building or piece of land that is used to further the social wellbeing or interests of the local community.

It would have meant that villagers’ wishes would be considered when officials consider future planning applications for the premises.

The grade two listed pub - which reportedly dates back to 1726 - is currently being sold on the market for £475,000.

The ACV application reads: “The pub has been at the centre of Kings Stanley life physically and figuratively for over 100 years.

“The Kings Head has the potential to be a successful pub as well as a larger community centre offering diverse community services.

“The pub has been poorly run in the last few years but whilst open it has at least provided a meeting place and a basic pub offering enabling it to be enjoyed by local residents.

The Kings Head in King's Stanley has been denied community asset status (Image: King's Stanley Parish Council / Stroud District Council)

It continues: “By nominating it as an ACV we wish to protect it from any development which would not serve the community.

“There is currently no other pub in the village so no other building can serve the same
purpose. 

“Once a successful nomination is in place it is proposed to survey the local community to register interest in running the pub as a community-run pub.”

The application was rejected on Tuesday, February 20.

In its denial decision, a council officer stated that the proposal did not meet the required requirements for approval under The Localism Act 2011.

It reads: “When assessing the application against part (a) of Section 88(2), the only reference to a recent use of the pub states “The pub has been poorly run in the last few years but whilst open it has at least provided a meeting place and a basic pub offering enabling it to be enjoyed by local residents”. 

“It is felt that this does not wholly demonstrate how the pub has furthered the social well being or interests of the local community.

“The rest of the application focuses on the potential for the pub to provide improved social
interests the community. 

“Although this is not disputed, and the fact that the pub is currently being marketed as a furnished and equipped pub would lead to the application meeting part (b) of Section 88(2), its failure to meet part (a) means that the application has failed to meet the criteria as set out in Section 88(2) of The Localism Act, 2011.

“For the reasons given above, it is considered that the application does not comply with the
provisions of Section 88 of Part 5, Chapter 3 of The Localism Act. The nomination is refused.”

You can view the application quoting 2023/0010/ASSETC or see here - tinyurl.com/4zh853ed