Popular pub in village near Leamington set to re-open after application to turn it into houses is refused

Regulars outside the Queen's Head in Cubbington before it closed in January. The pub is now due to re-open on Wednesday (July 20) after it was closed while a planning application was made to turn the building into houses.

A popular historic village pub near Leamington is set to re-open for business this week after plans to turn it into houses were refused.

Regulars at The Queen’s Head in Cubbington thought the historic pub had been closed for good in January but its manager Keith Poulton, who has run the business for nine years, is hoping to re-open it on Wednesday (July 20).

The proposals, made by Marshall Developments Ltd based in Warwick, were to demolish the building at 20-22 Queen Street and build two pairs of semi-detached houses – four houses in total - in its place.

The design and access statement for the plans said: “[The building is] dilapidated and has seen better days.

“It has failed as a pub and been unable to operate profitably for some time.

“Attempts have been made to market the pub as a going concern but this has been unsuccessful.

"The new houses will fill the gap in the streetscene and make a positive contribution to the area.”

But Warwick District Council refused the application at the end of May citing that it would not improve the character and quality of the area, that the development would be ‘unneighbourly’ to residents living nearby, that insufficient information had been provided to prove that the plans would not have an adverse impact on protected species and that the proposal would lead to the loss of a significant length of on-street parking where on-street parking demand is high in Queen Street.

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Several vilagers had objected to the plans.

Before the pub closed, regular Eamon Pickering said: “

Eamon Pickering, a regular of the Queen's Head, said: "This pub is a perfectly viable pub and closure is not needed as it has many people who use it as a community hub.

"Cubbington has a development already of 100 plus houses on the Rugby Road, why do we need another three / four houses put on an historic site?

"With the new housing estate (on the Rugby Road), Cubbington's population will increase and then the footfall should increase at all of the pubs in the village too.”