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4 days ago
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A pub that serves “sizzling tandoori dishes” within shouting distance of a Shakespeare heritage site may have to be demolished as the result of planning objections.
The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust has claimed that the Cask N Tandoor pub was built in breach of a legal covenant that limits development on land owned by the hotelier Rakesh Singh.
The charity, which cares for a nearby cottage in which Anne Hathaway, William Shakespeare’s wife, was born, has begun legal proceedings against Singh. Anne Hathaway’s cottage, built in 1463, is 200 metres from the Cask N Tandoor in the village of Shottery, in Warwickshire. Singh opened the gastropub in the grounds of his four-star Burnside hotel in March.
The trust has accused Singh of covenant breaches, including “repeated incidents of trespass”, unauthorised works and damage to the land, which is in a conservation area. It says the pub has a “detrimental impact … on the rural community in regards to intensification of use and the effect on the character of the area”.
Singh, 56, applied for retrospective permission for the single-storey pub and a patio area. But Stratford-on-Avon district council refused his plans on 16 December, citing concerns over the impact on biodiversity and overdevelopment.
The council also said the pub “fails to preserve or enhance the character and appearance of the conservation area”. Singh has indicated he will appeal against the decision or submit a fresh planning application.
In submissions, villagers complained the pub was “incongruous” with the surroundings of the quiet village, intruded on wildlife and had damaged the bank of a nearby brook.
One woman living nearby said the pub’s customers were rowdy, and the site had caused light and noise pollution. “It is particularly bad during winter months, with spotlights flooding through to my garden/windows,” she wrote.
“Noise pollution from their large car park, which accommodates smokers from the hotel, again causing local residents disturbance, sometimes into the late night hours. The owners do curry nights … and combined with the hotel’s bar, the rowdiness from customers can travel across to my garden and when windows are open, can be heard very clearly.”
Another said: “Not happy this has been built without planning permission. The noise in the evening from drinkers in the garden can be very loud. Overall this has affected evenings in my garden relaxing, and getting in and out of Shottery has become busier.”
A third said: “This is simply not the appropriate place to have a loud sports bar and Indian restaurant. Thousands of tourists visit Anne Hathaway’s cottage every year and shouldn’t be exposed to this kind of establishment.”
The Cask N Tandoor boasts a 6ft (2-metre) wide sports television screen and a “lively atmosphere”, its website says.
Stansgate Planning, on behalf of Singh, said: “We are currently reviewing the reasons for [planning] refusal and all the consultation comments, with a view to either submitting another planning application or appealing against the decision.”
A spokesperson for the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust said it had “lodged an official objection to the retrospective planning application with Stratford-on-Avon district council. The works have overdeveloped the site in contravention of local planning policy, the existing restrictive covenant and does not respect the amenity of the surrounding properties, including Anne Hathaway’s cottage.”
The trust manages Anne Hathaway’s cottage, where Shakespeare’s wife was born in 1556. Shakespeare is thought to have visited her at home during their courtship.
