WHEN TIME WAS CALLED ON A COMMUNITY PUB

When the Butt of Ale opened on the Butts farm estate in 1964, it was the first new licensed house that Eldridge Pope and Co., Ltd of Dorchester had built in Wiltshire since the Second World War.

The site had been purchased 1959 when the estate was nothing but green fields. It was part of the company’s policy of decentralisation of licensed properties in towns to meet the needs of the public in areas of development on their outskirts.

The Butt of Ale was to be found on the junction of Sunnyhill and Oakway Roads and the new establishment was officially opened with the pulling of the first pint by Mr Philip Pope, the joint managing director of Eldridge Pope brewers. Mr Pope said that the Butt of Ale was an attractive house in pleasant surroundings and expressed the hope that local residence would enjoy the service being offered for many years to come.

But in 2013, a planning inspector granted permission for new housing to be built. This was despite protests by local residents and the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) to keep the pub open – and at a Wiltshire Council planning meeting councillors agreed.

But JJ Acquistions Ltd appealed against the committee’s decision, and planning inspector Geoffrey Hill ruled that the pub was no longer viable and granted permission for four houses and car parking spaces on the site. “I recognise that the closure of any community facility is a matter of regret” he said adding, “clearly those living in the vicinity of this pub would prefer it to be retained and reopened. However, if the existing facility is not viable and efforts to market the pub to attract a new owner or tenant have not been successful, then it has to be concluded that rejecting the appeal proposal is not going to result in the facility being reopened.”