A WEALTHY businessman is being forced to rip down his pub built next to a famous home after neighbour complaints.
Owners of a Shakespeare heritage site have ordered the Indian gastro pub next door to it be demolished.
7
The landmark was the childhood home of Shakespeare’s wife – Anne Hathaway – which is a protected Conservation Area in Shottery, Statford-upon-Avon.
Rakesha Singh, 57, has been fighting to keep his pub “The Cask N Tandoor” up and running after being built 188 metres (618 ft) away from Anne Hathaway’s cottage.
Locals have said the development destroyed wildlife in the village, where house prices average around £500,000.
Management of the historic home, The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, also complained Mr Singh’s eatery was intruding on their land.
The Cask N Tandoor was built without proper planning permission in March last year, measuring 114 square metres in size.
And Stratford District Council rejected retrospective planning permission last month, claiming the pub did not “enhance the character” of the neighbouring site.
Mr Singh has now been given six months to demolish his build.
He did originally get approval for plans to add two extra en suite bedrooms for his hotel with a plant room replacing a timber shed.
Issues, however, arose when the business doubled the size of the development by adding a gastro pub that had a large wooden terrace outside for people to drink.
Local council delivered Mr Singh an enforcement notice on August 12, providing him with six months to demolish the pub unless an appeal is made.
The order takes effect on September 23, stating he must demolish the pub’s patio, seating area and gabion wall structure.
“In the absence of a planning permission with conditions to control the use of the pub building and associated outdoor seating area, it is considered that there is the potential for there to be a detrimental impact on the residential amenity of nearby residential properties through noise and disturbance,” the notice wrote.
It also cites “overdevelopment of the site” and “the erosion of an important open area that contributes to the landscape and character of Shottery”.
Manager of the hotel, Minty Manhas, said the row had been “blown out of all proportion”.
7
7
7
After the council rejected the retrospective planning application earlier this year, she said: “We have Indian chefs working there and all British people want to have a curry.
“We serve Tandoori Indian food and pub classics, what is not to like?”
She also suggested racism was behind the controversy, and added: “Brown skin and black skin may not sit well in this very white, middle-class village.”
7
7
7
