Developers have unveiled plans to demolish an Exeter pub and replace it with a block of flats. The pub was sold and subsequently closed last year but locals are still fighting against any proposed redevelopment.
Six months after the last pints were pulled at the Wonford Inn, developers Hamilton Estates have announced their intentions to demolish the pub and replace it with a three-storey block of 16 flats. An estate agent has said it is "no longer a viable business as a pub".
In a letter submitted as part of the application, a Bettesworths estate agent, who acted as the selling agent on behalf of previous owners Heavitree Brewery, said marketing of the Wonford Inn began on January 17, 2023. The agent says there was "a variety of interest" but "no serious interest from any pub operators", with most enquiries instead coming from developers or property speculators who were considering alternative uses.
The letter states that there were three formal viewings, one of which was a local church group who wanted to convert the pub into a place of worship and the other two were property developers. Hamilton Estates submitted an unconditional offer in March 2023 which was rejected. On March 8, 2023 they made a counter offer, which was accepted. The property was officially sold on September 25, just over a week after locals had said their final farewell.
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The Bettesworths estate agent said: "The support for the Wonford Inn has waned considerably over recent times and the operation had become uneconomic. Being situated in a city, the Wonford Inn was not unopposed and therefore the impact of the pub closure is minimal.
"Following the termination of the last tenancy, owners Heavitree Brewery took the decision to sell the property, on the basis that the rent and beer tie previously agreed was no longer achievable, with no genuine future prospect of the situation improving and therefore the pub becoming a financial liability to own."
He continued: "It is my opinion that like so many other pubs, that the Wonford Inn is no longer a viable business as a pub, evidenced particularly by the lack of any interest in the property from any operators. It is therefore inevitable that the property’s future is likely to suit an alternative use."
A planning document prepared by Heynes Planning Ltd, on behalf of Hamilton Estates, states: "The fact that the site was sold to a property developer as opposed to a pub operator with no interest shown in it to be used as a pub in the future demonstrates that an alternative use is the most suitable option particularly if that use offers substantial public benefit.
"The owners could not be expected to reasonably hold back on an offer in the hope that an alternative offer could appear that would mean that the building would operate as a pub. That scenario would not make commercial sense."
Locals are continuing to resist the loss of the pub and earlier this year, Exeter City Council accepted an application by The Friends of Wonford Inn for it to become an Asset of Community Value (ACV) in order for it to be recognised as a building or piece of land that is or recently was used to further the social wellbeing or interests of the local community.
An ACV does not place any restrictions on what an owner can do with their property but it can affect planning decisions. The local planning authority can decide if the ACV is a material consideration for a change of use application.
In its ACV assessment of the Wonford Inn, ECC states: "The building was open as a public house until September 2023. The council is satisfied that a public house, and the facilities and activities available, further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community. Numerous public houses in Exeter and nationwide have been assessed as meeting this criteria and listed as Assets of Community Value.
"The council is satisfied that September 2023 passes the test of being in the recent past."
Shortly after the planning application to demolish the Wonford Inn was submitted, locals began rallying against it. A post on the pub's Facebook page has already urged people to lodge objections, describing the pub as a "valuable community asset".
The post says: "Please help if you can. Planning consent has been applied for by developers for The Wonford Inn.
"If you would like to help save a community building which has been part of Wonford for almost 200 years from being developed please please send your objections. State your reasons why we want to keep this valuable community asset. Thank you for the support. Standing together we can achieve great things."
The full planning application can be viewed on Exeter City Council's website here.
