'Rebuild the Catherine Wheel' Campaign news

This page contains information relating to the campaign to rebuild the Catherine Wheel, including a chronology of events and interactions with the owners, Punch Taverns, in reverse chronological order.

October 2007

The Catherine Wheel is now open, having opened over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Much larger than before with a modern feel, the pub is busy, vibrant and serving a clientele from a wide area. We all hope that it is a huge success.

Catherine Wheel pub 29 October 2007

June 2007

Construction is almost complete and the new pub is looking great. Vicki and Peter Roads, who currently run The Bull in Much Hadham are confirmed as the new landlady and landlord (the Coyles having stepped down earlier in the year). They anticipate opening in early August. We look forward to that date with great anticipation!

February 2007

5th February 2007: Work begins to rebuild the Catherine Wheel!

January 2007

On January 31st, members of the Catherine Wheel Rebuild Committee were introduced to the new licensees of The Catherine Wheel by Mike Taylor, the Business Relationship Manager for Punch Taverns.

Michael & Jacqui Coyle run the Sow & Pigs in Thundridge next to Hanbury Manor, so pop along if you want to see them in action.

Michael has been in the trade for 30 years and it's fair to say that we were more than impressed with what they have planned once we are back in business, hopefully in July or August.

The food on offer will certainly be a cut above what The Catherine Wheel has been able to provide in the past and I believe that through
their vision and our patronage the opportunity exists to have one of Hertfordshire's finest pubs on our very own doorstep.

November 2006

Planning permission has been granted for the rebuild, however the Council have imposed a list of conditions and requirements which must be met prior to and during the rebuild (eg. an archeological survey of the site) We expect that this will mean that building work will not commence for some time. We are attempting to get a view on this from Punch Taverns.

The decision has been published here www.eastherts.gov.uk/decisions%20with%20conditions/2006/03-11-06.pdf (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader - will open in new window)

September 2006

Plans have been submitted for approval. See copies here: http://www.alburyvillage.org.uk/CW%20plans.htm

August 2006

The Planning Office at the Council has had a letter back from Punch saying they accept their most recent comments on the plans and intend to incorporate them. The only outstanding issue as far as they see is which of the two parking options are going to be implemented. If the larger of the two car park options is chosen, then a Landscape Officer may need to inspect the site to assess the impact on the landscape. However this could happen very quickly.

As regards the delisting, there is nothing to stop Punch submitting their formal planning application immediately and for the assessment/approval process to be ongoing in parallel with the delisting application. The Planning Office will, as part of the planning process, consult English Heritage once the formal application has been received and if English Heritage say they are intending to delist (even if the process is not complete), then that will be sufficient for him to proceed with the approval process for the planning application.

Tim Sargisson has sent this letter to Punch Taverns (PDF format, requires Acrobat Reader to open)

We await a reply.

Next committee meeting scheduled for September 7th.

July 2006

Catherine Wheel Status Update 17 July 2006
  1. The Council's planning office have received a revised plan from Punch Taverns, however it is currently unclear (due to the fact that the Council Planning Officer responsible is on holiday until 24/7) whether the revisions are sufficient for a formal planning application to proceed. This should be verified w/c 24/7.
  2. Delisting of the site appears to be the key sticking point at the moment. This can take months and planning cannot proceed until the delisting has been agreed. The key organisations responsible are apparently English Heritage and the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS, under Tessa Jowell) The committee are focusing on understanding the delisting process and making contact with the people involved in an attempt to make sure this happens as quickly as possible.
  3. Punch Taverns believe that they have done as much as they can for the time being. The committee will establish (by speaking to the Planning Officer at the council) whether Punch have submitted a formal planning application and chivvy Punch along if necessary. Otherwise the committee will focus on the understanding and speeding up the delisting process, as described above.
 
Catherine Wheel committee meeting 17 July 2006, 20.00
 
Attendees: Sonia Hoy, Tim Sargisson, Jez Donaldson; apologies from Geoff Miller, Mike Cuthbert and Paul Cole
 
We agreed that the committee should ease off pressure on Punch for the time being as the ball does not currently appear to be in their court (subject to finding out whether the Planning Officer is happy with the latest plan from Punch) The key issue appears to be with either the DCMS or English Heritage, so efforts should be focused on finding out where in the process the application to de-list the site is, which organisation it's with, and what can be done to expedite the application. We need a clear understanding of this part of the process so we can help push it along when it gets stuck. We agreed that this should be a (if not the) key function of the committee going forward - to clearly understand the process for getting the pub rebuilt and maintaining pressure at the sticking points to keep things moving along as quickly as possible.
 
We also discussed the forthcoming Tinnie Vigil and making sure that's a success. Also discussed how to capitalise on this gathering of interested people.
 
Actions: -
  1. Sonia to organise signs for Tinnie Vigil
  2. Tim to leaflet Patmore Heath with a Tinnie Vigil reminder leaflet
  3. Jez to email village newsgroup with a Tinnie Vigil reminder
  4. Jez to create a petition for signature at the Tinnie Vigil that we can use as evidence of demand for the pub in the village
  5. Sonia to provide list of signatories from first pub meeting at the village hall, to be appended to the petition
  6. Jez to précis various recent discussion notes etc for August Albury Newsletter -> Jane Pod.
  7. Tim to write to Francis Patton (Punch) to acknowledge his letter and advise him on how we anticipate supporting Punch going forward
  8. At the appropriate time, the committee will suggest to Punch that relevant people from the village should participate in the selection of a suitable landlord, to help ensure that they select someone who is likely to make it a success. Punch may reject the offer, but nothing ventured nothing gained.
Meeting closed at 20.45.
 
Next meeting date: Thursday 17th August at 8pm

June 2006

The letter below was received recently from Punch Taverns. The frustrating thing here is that Punch were advised by the committee over a year ago that the site would need de-listing. Here, a year on, de-listing is causing yet more delays.

To open the letter, click on the link below. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer, it may scale the image of the letter so that it's too small to read. In this case, hover your mouse over the image and click the square icon that appears at the bottom right, to expand the letter to full size.

Letter from Punch Taverns dated 6th June 2006

Following the departure from the village of committee member Tony Raven and the imminent departure of Pauline Holttum, Tim Sargisson and Jez Donaldson have joined the committee pushing for the rebuild to happen as quickly as possible. The committee will be applying additional pressure on the key stakeholders in the process for rebuilding the pub in the coming months in an effort to keep the Catherine Wheel at top of mind with each of those people. The committee now comprises:

Mike Cuthbert

Sonia Hay

Geoff Miller

Jeremy (Jez) Donaldson

Tim Sargisson

Paul Cole

 

If villagers have questions about progress, please feel free to email them to the village discussion group (click here to visit) as many of the committee members are on this.

April 2006

From: Michael Taylor
To: John & Pauline Holttum
Sent: Thursday, March 30, 2006 11:16 PM
Subject: RE: Catherine Wheel

 Pauline,
 
Apologies for the delay in replying, but I thought I would wait until after we had a meeting with the planners.
 
On Wednesday morning I met with our architects and the Planning Case Officer (Stuart Downs) and the Conservation Officer (Michael ) for East Herts Council.
 
It was an interesting meeting and the outcome was basically that we needed to make some changes to the plans (mainly to do with roof lines and appearances) and also that we would need to make an application to the Secretary of State to delist the site.
 
As a result of this we are know unlikely to be open this side of Christmas, much to my, and probably your, disgust. We do not know how long it will take to get the site delisted but we need to do this before we submit the final planning application. I think it was better to have this consultation meeting first, rather than submitting the plans only to have them turned down after 8 weeks and have to then go through the process of revising the drawings. Better to get it right with the first submission.
 
I understand our architect will amend the plans and then have a further meeting with Michael & Stuart just be they are submitted formally.
 
Hope this helps.
 
Thanks
Mike

February 2006

From: Michael Taylor
To: John & Pauline Holttum
Sent: Wednesday, February 08, 2006 4:28 PM
Subject: RE: Catherine Wheel Update

 
Pauline,
 
Apologies for not getting back to you last week, but I didn't have anything to report.
 
Following my meeting on the 19th we were presented with some initial drawings for the pub. We liked what was presented but had some suggestions that we wanted the designer to include. He then reworked his proposals and sent us some revised drawings which I looked at last Thursday. These plans have now been passed to the Parish Council and the planning department for comments.
 
I understand from our designer that he met some one on site when he was measuring up. I would assume that from your comment below it must have been you.
 
It is our intention to have the pub open by November this year, assuming we do not get any setbacks in terms of planning and costs.
 
We now await the comments of the Parish Council and Planning Department.
 
I will let you know when we have further information.
 
Thanks
Mike

November 2005

From: Michael Taylor
To: Jane Podgorski
Sent: Friday, November 11, 2005 12:06 PM
Subject: RE: Newsletter
 
Jane,
 
Thanks for the email.
 
We have taken on board the comments from our meeting at the church hall in September. It has taken time to arrange and we have had some disagreements with the insurance company over re building costs, but we are now in a position to move forward.
 
We have taken the decision to start from scratch with a brand new designer and we will be meeting them on site the week after next to give them a full brief. We would then expect to have something new to submit to the planners in January 2006. I would like to think we could be on site rebuilding the pub some time after Easter with a completion before Christmas 2006.
 
I know this all sounds a long way off, but I am confident that we now have the right team working on the project and I, for one, would like the pub open and trading again as soon as possible.
 
I will keep you informed of progress as we go.
 
Thanks
Mike

 

September 2005

From: Michael Taylor
To: John & Pauline Holttum
Sent: Thursday, September 29, 2005 12:47 AM
Subject: RE: Catherine Wheel Albury
 
Pauline,
 
Just a quick update as to where we are now. The architects are preparing full drawings and specifications for submission to the planning department at the council. What you saw at the meeting was just a sketch scheme and the planners require much more detail. They will also advise us as to the materials etc that they would like us to use in the construction.
 
I am in the process of trying to find the right retailers to take on the lease at the Catherine Wheel. I am looking for operators with the ability to deliver a high quality food and drink offer. If you know of anyone who may be interested then let me know!
 
I'll let you know when we have more news.
 
Thanks
Mike

Read minutes of 1st September meeting with Punch Taverns by clicking here (requires Acrobat Reader, free download from www.adobe.com)

August 2005

NOTICE: David Davis and colleague from Punch Taverns to hold public meeting on plans for the Catherine Wheel at Albury Village Hall on 1st Sept at 6pm. All welcome. Minutes will be posted on this page in due course.

July 2005

Read Priest-in-Charge Tony Raven's letter to Punch Tavern's CEO Giles Thorley here and Punch's reply here.

June 2005

First "Tinnie Vigil" is great success

Albury, 10th June 2005

Despite very chilly conditions, the first "Tinnie Vigil", held in the garden of the Catherine Wheel site was a great success, with over 40 people attending during the course of the evening. The Vigil was held to commemorate the Catherine Wheel, which burned down in October 2004, and to demonstrate the strength of feeling in the need for a new village pub. One villager commented "It's been great to see people I haven't seen since the pub burned down last October. For people who don't frequent the church, the pub was the only place in the village where people could get together for a pint and a chat." and another commented "We're all looking forward to the Catherine Wheel being rebuilt. It was the heart of the village.  We need the pub back - and soon!".

During the summer months, the event will run weekly on a Friday evening from around 6pm, weather permitting.

Any thoughts or comments regarding the Catherine Wheel? Email them to us by clicking here.

April 2005

From: Giles Thorley
To: Tim Sargisson
Sent: Tue Apr 12 2005
Subject: FW: The Catherine Wheel - Albury

Dear Tim,

I have now had an opportunity to discuss the situation at the Catherine Wheel with the relevant department and have been informed that we are currently in the process of gaining costs for the redevelopment of the site. It is estimated that it could be 6 months or more before the pub reopens - of course taking into consideration the relevant permissions regarding planning and the site being a listed building.

It is of course our wish that the pub re-opens as soon as possible and we are doing everything in our power to ensure that this is the case.

Yours sincerely,


Giles Thorley
 

From: Giles Thorley
Sent: 30 November 2004 13:33
To: Tim Sargisson
Subject: The Catherine Wheel

Dear Tim,

Many thanks for taking the time to drop us a note about the Catherine Wheel and Steve and Lyn the retailers. We are already working on plans to return the Pub to its former glory and hope that you and the other customers in the village will be patient while we go through this process.

Yours sincerely,
Giles Thorley

Friday 29 October 2004: Historic Catherine Wheel Pub burns to the ground - click here for pictures and story

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