Jeremy Hunt will be out this evening hunting for Afold votes.
I wonder what he has to say about yet another Alfold watering hole – the famous Barn Restaurant- that is about to become the site for new homes?
Rock up at Alfold Village Hall at 7:30 pm and tell him what you think of the Conservative Government’s planning quotas and its planning Inspectors’ recent decisions.
Alfold has lost the Crown Pub, The Three Compasses, and The Chez Jean Restaurant. Will it lose the Barn Pub and Restaurant?
Said Denise Wordsworth, a keen campaigner to keep Alfold’s village character and community facilities:
Planning Application PRA/2024/00861 – Valid From 02/05/2024
Proposal to Convert The Alfold Barn RESTAURANT to 4 Flats
The owners have already gained planning consent for three houses in the car park behind The Barn. – now, they want to convert this lovely old piece of Alfold’s History into four flats
The Alfold Barn was built in 1590 and has many connections with the local area and the Canadian Air Force during World War II.
It was a tea room in the 1940s and was a regular haunt of many airmen. It was known as ‘Gibbs Hatch’ and became the Barn in the 1970’s. The beams are all original and are thought to date back to the Armada.
They also recently (2024) applied to renew the licence to use the premises to work as a Restaurant, which was supported by Local Residents. The restaurant had been closed for many months as its licence had expired.
This application relates to the conversion of the existing restaurant to 4 single-storey dwellings, comprising 3 x 1 bedroom (2 person) and 1 x 2 bedroom (3 person) dwellings.
More than 150 new Houses are being built on the other side of the A281 Horsham Road, either side of the BP Petrol Station, so there are plenty of New Residents there who may quite like the idea of a New Pub/Restaurant within easy walking distance as would many existing residents at the Crossways end of the Village.Four new flats are hardly going to significantly benefit the Village, but a new Pub, Restaurant, Community Hub, or health and wellbeing centre may be more in keeping.The Alfold Barn pub is not statutorily listed or a Building of Local Merit but is thought to be of local interest…. I do not understand why we continue to lose so many facilities in our Little Village – whilst we take on so many new houses. I have many happy memories of taking friends and family here – and to lose this is just heartbreaking