Judge aids fight to save favourite pub of the Duchess of Cambridge and family
ONE of the Duchess of Cambridge’s favourite pubs is at the centre of a village war in a plot worthy of radio soap The Archers.
Locals are fighting to save The Old Boot Inn – a longtime favourite of the Kate Middleton
Locals are fighting to save The Old Boot Inn, in Stanford Dingley, Berkshire – a longtime favourite of the then Kate Middleton and her family, who live in nearby Bucklebury.
She and Prince William have dined in the grade II listed building and its landlord, John Haley, was invited to the Royal Wedding in 2011 by parents Michael and Carole Middleton.
However five years on Mr Haley has upset locals by trying to get planning permission to sell it for conversion into a private home.
He says it is “not a viable business”. But local businessman Stuart Logan and fellow members of a campaign to save the pub – called “Re-Boot” – are standing in his way.
Now a judge has handed the group a crucial victory by ruling that the inn should be formally recognised as an “asset of community value”.
That status means Mr Logan and Re-Boot will have a priority right to bid for the pub if Mr Haley tries to sell it for development – and six months to raise the cash.
The Old Boot’s royal connections have given it pride of place on a Kate Middleton-themed coach tour and Mr Logan says it is “a great feather in the cap of the village”.
The landlord, John Haley, was invited to the Royal Wedding in 2011 by parents Michael and Carole
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Locals are fighting to save The Old Boot Inn – a longtime favourite of the Kate Middleton
He has also argued it does not have to be run as a gastropub but could be viable as a “pie and pint” venue, with a publican couple living on the premises.
It could remain as a hub of local life and be used to host parish meetings, barn dances, vegetable shows and curry nights, he has said.
The Re-Boot camp has won financial backing from the Plunkett Foundation, a charity focused on supporting rural community cooperatives, Judge Peter Lane was told.
The Old Boot’s royal connections have given it pride of place on a Kate Middleton-themed coach tour
But Mr Haley insisted it was impossible to make a go of the picturesque pub and, despite being on the market as a pub for some time, there had been no interest.
Yesterday, Judge Lane told the First-Tier Tribunal it was “quite clear” the pub “furthers the social wellbeing and social interests” of the village.
“Mr Haley’s way of running the Old Boot Inn is far from being the only viable means of doing so,” he added.