Letter: Why close a community pub?

I refer to your article in last week’s Middy. The question has to be asked: “How can the Co-op proceed to do so much damage by closing the community pub and converting it to a shop with no benefit to the residents”.

By The Newsroom

Published 22nd Nov 2014, 07:22 BST

Especially as there is a well stocked shop next door.

Maybe the answer is that the elected members were asleep on the job or abrogated their responsibility to the Officers.

There was plenty of time to issue an Article 4 direction. Indeed it needs to be repeated that the Ship was sold to another publican who obtained planning permissions to improve and re-launch as a Gastro Pub with the Community being told it would reopen in November.

It is a national disgrace that MSDC behaved so badly and allowed “the wool to be pulled over their eyes”.

Maybe other local authorities will be alerted to this case history, because if not we will see a whole raft of pubs changing use to the detriment of the community they serve.

Wilf Knighton

By email

Co-Op Community