Pub warns it could close amid years-long row over play area

A pub has asked a council to bring to an end years of wrangling over its children’s play area and decking. 

More than 3,000 people signed a petition, launched in 2024, urging council planners to agree that the decking, play area and marquee could remain on the land beside the Castell y Bwch Inn, Cwmbran. 

Planners had argued the features would have to be removed as they were on land which hadn’t been granted A3 planning consent for food and drink uses. 

Landlord Gary Bulmer has submitted a planning application to retain the decking and children’s play area, which is described as essential for the pub’s survival. 

The application, first made in March 2023 with revised plans submitted last month, described as for the retention of A3 uses, also asks for permission for a new post and wire fence around the decking at the pub in Henllys Lane between Henllys and the outskirts of Newport. 

Torfaen Borough Council had served an enforcement notice on the previous tenants in 2022 which outlined what the council considered the established boundaries for the A3 use. 

But Mr Bulmer’s application describes those boundaries as “poorly researched and inconsistent” and argues the purchase of land to extend the pub’s car park, in 1974, and the planning use since 1948, at the establishment that has been in use as an inn since the 1870s, hasn’t been taken into account. 

In an 18 page document, submitted with the application, it is argued the land Mr Bulmer wants to retain has been in A3 use for more than 10 years and the application should be approved, and it is important the boundary is agreed. 

The planning statement warns without determining a planning application the council would have to take Mr Bulmer to court to establish the boundaries, and claimed it would struggle bring a prosecution in the public interest. 

“Restricting this to the boundaries defined in the 2022 enforcement action would have such a detrimental impact upon the sustainability of the Inn that it would be forced to close.  

“Consequently, this cannot be considered a viable option by the applicant. The council’s next option would be prosecute the applicant, which they can only do if they believe that it is in the public interest to do so.  

“Given that a recent petition has seen more than 3,000 signatures, most of which are local, supporting both the decking area and the location of the children’s play area, and that if successful the inn would still be forced to close leading to the loss of the community facility, it is doubtful that this would be considered a viable option by the council.” 

The statement also acknowledges the site has “an extremely complex history and that there are no clear-cut solutions to the current situation” but warns: “It is considered that all this land needs to be utilized for A3 use for the inn to remain financially viable, and should this application be refused, the inn will almost certainly be forced to close, with the loss of another community facility and jobs within Torfaen.” 

The application is being considered by the planning department.