Above left: Dining room damage due to water ingress


Above right:


The dysfunctional kitchen


Every councillor at Dover District Council received a series of emails from the campaign in the week that the next planning meeting was due to take place, and a 1050 page report opposing the proposed development was sent. As a result, the council took time to consider the community’s request and the inn was finally granted ACV status on the 12 February 2016, with the planning application unanimously rejected a month later.


The inn’s future was by no means assured despite the victory, but the village was not about to give up. The pub was put up for sale at £340,000. A fundraising operation was planned to raise cash, organising grants, loans and selling £100 shares to 250 villagers. After much negotiation, the pub was finally bought by the Chequer Inn Ash Society Committee on behalf of the community in April this year with the help of the Plunkett Foundation, who offer a programme of support for communities in England looking to take control of their local pub.


When the committee finally got the keys and visited the pub, the work ahead could be seen properly for the first time. Jane Greaves, committee member, said “It did not seem as bad as I expected. It was however a very emotional experience as we never thought this would happen due to the multiple obstacles placed in our way during two years of lobbying and trying to get access from the vendors.”


Lead had been stolen from the roof, letting in water for the last four years. The once grand garden containing an Edwardian tea room is overgrown and uneven. The door leading into a defunct kitchen had been plastered over and the ceiling in the dining room collapsed from water ingress.


The committee now need to make some significant decisions. With only £90K to cover all expenses, they must open the pub this year to be able to pay back loans and continue to pay the substantial insurance. They have a pub


kitchen to refurbish and we need to repair the public areas. They have an upstairs flat which needs complete renovation for the tenant to live in. Refurbishment of this will include an entirely new bathroom and plumbing. One of the chimneys is leaning outwards and this needs to be made safe. They do have many volunteers, but will need to choose professional suppliers in order to complete the work to keep the building envelope intact.


Getting here was hard, but in some senses the real journey has only just begun. They are lucky enough to have members on the Committee who know something about building regulations and pubs, but they are to some extent novices – as are many who embark on a listed property project. They have just applied to Dover Council for our own planning permission – the committee shall see.


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