Local Pub of Year Winner

A local Andover pub that had been saved and re-opened only two years ago has been selected for two awards by the local Campaign for Real Ale group for north Hampshire.

 
The Andover Tap at the Lamb was voted by local members to receive the North Hampshire Pub of the Year accolade along with the associated  Cider Pub of the Year Award.
This is the first step in the National Pub of the Year competitions. 

UPDATE:

A presentation of the awards will be made at 2.00pm on Saturday 4th May.
Everyone welcome.

The Andover Tap at the Lamb

Around 250 pubs were eligible in an area that stretches across the northern reaches of Hampshire including the main centres of Andover and Basingstoke.
Hartley Wintney and Odiham are included to the east; Whitchurch, Sutton Scotney and Stockbridge are to the west, and Tadley and Kingsclere are to the north. The pubs are visited and judged by local members on a wide range of criteria.

Popular owner,
Tim Abram

The next step
The pub has now been forwarded for the Wessex Regional Award which includes entries from Dorset, the Isle of Wight, Wiltshire, and the Channel Islands as well as from the rest of Hampshire. Independent teams of judges will be visiting these over the next few months.

The Lamb Inn
The Andover Tap, owned by Tim Abram, moved into the historic Lamb Inn in Winchester Street just over two years ago along with Wessex Spirits, who run the lovely Gin Palace in the rest of the Listed Building. Previously the pub had been closed having been a canteen for an insurance company who had bought it from Wadworths.

As well as a fine selection of cask ales, craft keg beers and real ciders from mainly local producers, regular events are held including food nights, games sessions, quizzes, BBQs, brewery visits, and an annual cycle ride. It is also a venue for the long established Lamb Folk Sessions as well as holding occasional music events. Meanwhile each year an Ale and Gin Festival is held in conjunction with the Gin Palace (this years event is 24th–26th May 2024).

The pub also houses a small micro-brewery and has started to produce some special house beers under the apt name of Ewe Brew.

Conversation rules in the Andover Tap at the Lamb

A unique and welcoming pub
Tim Abram and his wonderful staff have created a unique independent and inclusive pub in the town that caters for, and welcomes everyone. It is definitely not a pub to miss and with the Gin Place next door shows the value of independent businesses in providing top quality service. 

Massive congratulations are due, along with the best of wishes as the pub moves forward towards the ultimate accolade of National Pub of the Year. Fingers are crossed.

The wonderful staff are will always give a friendly welcome
(here are Willow and Matt)

Cheers!

A Call-out for Brewdog

Amongst traditional ale drinkers Brewdog can be a bit of a 'marmite' company. There is no doubt it has had a strong influence in the growth of craft beers and the introduction of a range of exciting taste innovations but it can also be controversial.

However it is good to report a very local and positive move by the company.

Raising Funds for a local school
A recent fund raising Spring Auction by the Friends of Whitchurch Primary School (FOWPS) saw Brewdog offer two Lots - each of value £40 to be used "on anything you please - Beer, Food, Merch & Beer Schools Galore in a Brewdog Bar".

One Voucher was paired with an Overton Rugby Season Membership for one child (aged Year 6 or below) and raised £50, while the other was stand-alone and raised £33 for the Primary School.

Over £1500
In all, the Spring Auction raised over £1500 for the School. All the money raised goes directly to enriching the lives of our local school children.

So a well-done to Brewdog for helping a local worthy cause.

Brewdog, Festival Place, Basingstoke

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About FOWPS

The Friends of Whitchurch Primary School or FOWPS are a registered charity whose mission is to enrich the educational experience and enhance the well-being of all the children at school.

We bring together parents, teachers and children and raise funds and strengthen our school community. The committee is made up of volunteer parents, of which three are compulsory members and trustees. We raise money for the school through donations, sponsored events and activities.

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Famous Pub and Mural could be destroyed – Weyhill Fair

A pub that has a long history in the local pub and beer scene is at risk of being demolished and an amazing artwork mural lost if an application being placed before Test Valley Borough Council is approved.

The Weyhill Fair just outside Andover has been closed since January last year after a series of licensees ran the business following its sale to Fullers Smith & Turner, a brewery now owned by global brewing company Asahi of Japan. Fullers are also closing other pubs, including the Fox at Newfound.

Pub losses
The closure had left Weyhill without a pub with the nearby Star having closed some years ago and converted into a restaurant while the next nearest, The Bell, is also long term closed.  

The success of the Weyhill Fair
When a Free House under the ownership of Dave and Jan Rayner, the Weyhill Fair had been developed into one of the most successful real ale and good food pubs in the area.
Dave and Jan had become famous for being leaders in supporting independent breweries and had introduced also a very successful annual Beer and Music Festival that continued after they retired. 
Another casualty of this application may be the loss of use of the field to the Andover Whippet Club, a long time user of the land.

Award winning, but then Fullers came along
The pub had previously been awarded the coveted Wessex Campaign for Real Ale Pub of the Year as well as winning many local accolades. It became one of the longest running entries in the national Good Beer Guide, known by many as the "Beer Drinkers Bible" and was a regular venue for CAMRA meetings.
However under Fuller's ownership it has been far less successful as is often the case under companies with less local community commitment and who may wish to cash in on residential land values at the expense of community facilities.

THE APPLICATION

Plans for nine large houses
The planning application submitted for Rivendale Developments is for complete demolishment of the pub and the subsequent building of nine three and four bed dwellings.

The Sun Inn before its name change

The application shows little regard for the pub building and there has been no detail provided on whether any independent historic assessment has been carried out.
The present building seems to be at least 18th century and pictures from the turn of the century, when it was called The Sun, show at least the frontage largely unaltered from today. 

In addition the applicant's reports on marketing the pub have a bias towards future development of the site rather than it being placed for sale 'as a pub' or indeed as any other use.
The non-viability as a public house has therefore not been adequately shown.

These concerns are amongst those being made to Test Valley Borough Council.
The Council should not allow any change of use, let alone demolition without taking these critical issues into account. As such the application should be rejected.
Objections can be lodged here:
https://view-applications.testvalley.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SAECMNQCHO800&activeTab=summary

ANOTHER MAJOR CONCERN – the famous Mural

Of major concern is the potential loss of an amazing painted mural that covers a wall of the upstairs function room. Anyone using the room would have been awestruck by its content and quality.

The mural depicts the historic Weyhill Fair that was one of the country's largest sheep fairs in medieval times when over 100,000 sheep a day were traded. The Fair was also famous for trading by hops growers, and other farmstock goods. with traders travelling from all over the south of England to attend. 

The demolishing of this pub goes far further than just loss of an eating and drinking establishment.

The famous upstairs mural that covers one wall.

Thank you to Sian Coles for kind use of the above picture
©Sian Coles Photography https://www.siancolesphotography.co.uk/
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It could be saved
The proposed demolishing of the pub could see this tremendous piece of artwork lost forever.
With today's building technology that even allows whole buildings to be moved intact it is believed it could be saved and possibly become part of the nearby Weyhill Fairground Craft Centre or another community facility. 

The Mural must be Saved!
and
The Planning Application as submitted rejected

Objections can be lodged here:

https://view-applications.testvalley.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?keyVal=SAECMNQCHO800&activeTab=summary

Cricketers Inn, Longparish – Closing

News broke today (23rd February) that the popular Cricketers Inn in Longparish is to close, though hopefully not for long.

They published the following:

Hello all, 

we have made the heartbreaking decision to close the Cricketers Inn, we are working hard for a solution to possibly continue next week. Thank you for all of your support, and I am really sorry we have had to close. But there may be a solution next week.

The welcoming and friendly pub has been run by local publican Mark Etherington since March 2020 and is leased from Red Oak Taverns a pub company based in Ipswich and who own 229 pubs across the UK. Red Oak bought the pub from Wadworths brewery in 2019. 

It features in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide for 2024 and always serves a good range of traditional brews from its handpumps, including beers from local breweries.
In addition it has a very good reputation for its home-cooked food, its pizza oven and excellent Sunday roasts. Fish and steak dishes also feature highly.
The Cricketers Inn had been registered as an Asset of Community Value in recognition of its importance to the local community.

Recently it had suffered from the drainage issues in the area when the road to the pub had been closed by Southern Water. It also sadly lost its bus service recently when Hampshire County Council removed their support. It had been possible to visit the pub for lunch by public transport.

We hope that The Cricketers Inn will soon be back serving the both local people and visitors to this lovely part of Hampshire.

The Kings Arms is officially valued by its community.

Good news is that the Kings Arms in Whitchurch has been approved by Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council for registration as an Asset of Community Value.

The nomination, put forward by local residents, recognises the importance of this wonderful pub to the local community. It adds a degree of protection should the pub ever become at risk in the future, although under its present excellent publicans that is more than unlikely.

Since Stephen and Lucy took on the 16th century historic pub three months ago they have enhanced the true community spirit within the pub with their friendly and inclusive style of hospitality making it a must-to-visit public house in Whitchurch. With their newly-born daughter Poppy and a tremendous staff they have created an inclusive and welcoming pub that deserves to succeed.

If you haven't visited – it is highly recommended.
You will come away with a Big Smile.

Website: THE KINGS ARMS, WHITCHURCH

New Bar and Microbrewery for Overton?

The rural village of Overton in Hampshire could see a brewery open as part of the plans for a new bar.

Plans have been submitted to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council for a Change of Use to create a new bar with a micro-brewery and kitchen at No.7 High Street, a former hair and beauty salon (Hobbs).

The premises consists of a two-storey building that is believed to date from the 15th/16th centuries but has undergone significant changes although much of the timber framing remains. It is registered as a Listed Grade II building.
On one side is Mariners, a fish and chip shop, while on the other is a private home.

The brief from the owners to the architect was to create:

"A Microbrewery & Kitchen, marketed towards young professionals in the local and surrounding area"  and

"To be able to host beer festivals (including Oktoberfest), comedy nights, music performances, book clubs, quizzes etc."

Plans for the main building

The ground floor of the main building will contain comfortable seating including sofas and stools, along with the bar with 2 – 5 steel serving tanks, 5 – 7 taps, an area for preparing cocktails and space for fridge, dishwasher and sink.
Upstairs is an area that can be "booked for private dining/ more intimate setting with mixture of sofas, bar stools..."
Two unisex WCs will also be upstairs and the brief includes a request to the architect "To include area for makeup/hair etc."

At the rear a outdoor seating and a kitchen/brewery building
To the rear there is a long narrow stretch of land where the plans are to place an open seating area, a timber covered pathway, and a separate building at the 'bottom' housing the micro-brewery and kitchen with a pizza oven and potential for a 'shop window' for serving use.
The micro-brewery will be visible from the 'garden' area and will have facilities for tastings for up to four people.

Comments should be sent to Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council.
The application is No. 23/03104/FUL
There is also an application for Listed Building Consent, No.23/03105/LBC

https://planning.basingstoke.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=S5WKXQCRJQC00

Beer Festival in Andover

A beer festival featuring a wide range of traditional cask beers, flavoursome keg beers and a selection of real ciders is to be held over three days in March.

Click to enlarge

A joint initiative
The Andover Tap at the Lamb is hosting this special joint venture with the North Hampshire Branch of the Campaign for Real Ale over the weekend of Friday 8th March to Sunday 10th March. 

A leading beer venue
The 'Tap', in Winchester Street, is the town's leading venue for beers from local and regional independent breweries and always has a range of styles from traditional bitters, IPAs and craft lagers through to stouts, porters, and even sour ales. 

Beers are served from cask, keg or in cans and bottles. In addition there is a range of various ciders with differing tastes from traditional hazy styles to fruity varieties.

The Campaign for Real Ale
CAMRA is one of the most successful consumer organisations, dating back to 1971 and has Branches throughout the country.
This Festival will see members of the North Hampshire Branch providing an increased selection of traditional beers which will be served direct from the cask, ie by gravity, supplementing the Tap's range, making this an event not to miss.
Around eight beers will be served this way with others on handpump and craft keg fonts.

A full range
There is also a full bar available including top quality gins from the neighbouring on-site distillery of Wessex Spirit's Gin Palace as well as some food to supplement the drinks.

The doors open at 11.00am on both Friday and Saturday and the event runs to 10.30pm each day, while on Sunday it opens at noon and continues through to around 6.00pm, although the beers on gravity dispense may finish before or around mid-afternoon.

This will be a weekend to savour all those wonderful tastes and enjoy the hospitality and friendship of this community pub.

Entry is FREE – just turn up. 😄

 

Ark Bar Closes

Sad news at the end of 2023 is that Last Orders have been called for the last time at the ARK Bar in Andover.

The small intimate London Street bar had been opened by Jason Wyatt just one year ago, with ARK standing for 'Acts of Random Kindness'.

The main focus was on live music acts which had proved popular, although Jason had originally stated that the bar was to also cater for poetry reading, exhibitions, cocktail workshops. Raising monies for the charity The Yellow Brick Road Projects was also a prime aim – an Andover-based charity that provides young people with essential life skills with a vision of "seeing an end to youth homelessness"
Around £850 had been raised over the year.

Jason stated that the two biggest contributing factors for closing were "the location of the bar and the licence restrictions".

JASON WYATT'S STATEMENT

Growling Gibbon closes the doors

The end of the year sees another Hampshire brewery cease production as Growling Gibbon closes its doors.

Located in the Incuhive Space for start-up new businesses within IBM's Hursley Park near Winchester, Growling Gibbon was one of the very smallest commercial brewers in the County and focussed on American style IPAs with their citrusy, fruity and piney character that comes from using punchy American hops. 

Growling Gibbon, Hursley near Winchester

Beers like Tune In Freak Out, Disconnect the Dots and Detective of Perspective were found in specialist craft beer bars as well as in canned form in various delicatessants and independent shops.
However, a recent beer, 3600 Feet, moved away from this style, being a dark coffee stout using Guatemalan beans from their next door neighbours at Hursley, Hocombe Coffee.

The brewery was formed in early 2022 after a visit to Borneo by the owner who decided to change a career in the development of artificial intelligence for something more rewarding. Thus was formed Growling Gibbon with the slogan of Craft Beer for Humans. 

With a strong environmental philosophy 5% of the brewery's profits went to the World Land Trust, an international conservation charity that protects the world’s most biologically significant and threatened habitats.

Sadly after such a short life, Growling Gibbon is now closing its doors.

Beer Tasting in the Whitchurch Silk Mill

Longdog Brewery is a small family run independent brewer on the edge of Basingstoke and has been a regular attendee to events around the area including farmers markets and food fairs.

On Saturday 24th February they visit the historic Whitchurch Silk Mill on the River Test and hold a convivial evening of beer tastings and food. 

Longdog Brewery produces a range of traditional hand-crafted cask and bottled beers including golden pale ales, bitters, porters and IPAs as well as a number of seasonal specials. 

The award-winning micro-brewery was established in 2011 and came under the ownership of Rod and Jenny in 2019 who have continued the local traditions all with a focus on using local ingredients. Only last month did they take Silver in the Regional round of the Champion Beer of Britain for their Lamplight Porter (*see below for presentation).

The Silk Mill is a fantastic venue for this event being a 19th century water mill that weaves English silk fabrics using original 19th century machinery. It is a Grade II* Listed Building and one of Hampshire's hidden gems of industrial heritage, once employing 108 staff including 39 children under 13 years of age. It is now owned by Hampshire Buildings Preservation Trust and open to the public.

All tickets for this event must be booked in advance.
In aid of Living Weaving Heritage at the Mill

Tickets from:
BEER TASTING WITH LONGDOG BREWERY

* A presentation to Longdog Brewery for taking Silver in the Champion Beer of Britain Regional Round is being made at 1.00pm on Saturday 9th December 2023 at their brewery on the Moniton Estate, Worting, Basingstoke, RG22 6NQ. (Buses serve the White Hart, just a short walk away). 

The Brewery Tap Room will be open from 10:00am until 1:00pm for drinks. 

All are welcome.

The Kings Arms – and an ACV application

Whitchurch in Hampshire has a long history of supporting its public houses going back many centuries.

There is a famous quote:

Over one hundred years ago the Star newspaper reported:

“Whitchurch is in Hampshire. People who live in it call it a town. People who live out of it call it a village. It is about as big as a good-sized pocket handkerchief. It has three shops and 19 public houses.”

Although it has since grown considerably and is in line for much greater expansion, it has already lost the vast majority of those pubs and after recent closures only four now remain.

Request for registration
The next step in adding some 'protection' to one of the existing public houses moved forward after a request from local residents that the local Town Council submit a nomination to have The Kings Arms legally registered as an Asset of Community Value (ACV).

Local residents did the work and paid costs!
The residents including members of the Campaign for Real Ale and the Campaign for Pubs supplied all the background information and legal documentation as completed the forms so all the Council had to do was to post off the paperwork.

 
No help with costs

Payments for the legally required plans and title details also came directly from local residents although it had been hoped the Town Council would have helped as the fees are relatively modest. They didn't; that was very disappointing, particularly as they had spent £250 on getting a certificate to say what good service they provide.

An ACV:

• is a material planning consideration, which gives the Council additional reasons to reject any proposal involving loss of the pub;
• gives the community the opportunity to bid for the property if it is sold or leased for 25 years or more;
• gives Councils powers of compulsory purchase if the community use of the asset is in danger of being lost.

It can be a long process – but needn't be
Whitchurch Town Council had first been approached about a nomination back in June 2023. However it was not until November that the Councillors agreed to forward the details to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council (BDBC) who are responsible for designating ACVs.

That's a long time but it does raise the question as to whether changes to the national process are required.

Parish/Town Councils should be best placed to make nominations rather than individuals or voluntary groups as they already have wider community status as 'elected' bodies. Many have shown this to be true. However if other Councils took the time Whitchurch did it could mean pubs being unnecessarily lost.

 
Shortfalls taken to government
This latter point is currently being made to government resulting from concerns over planning at local level and has now been discussed in Parliament. 
Perhaps ALL pubs that have a recognised 'heritage value' should automatically have an ACV registration giving a community group the Right to Bid should Changes of Use be submitted or sale details be announced.
See: CHANGES TO PLANNING REGULATIONS NEEDED

But for the Kings Arms, the eventual submission of a nomination is at least a step forward in the right direction and those Councillors who do understand the value of the public house to a community are to be thanked.

We now wait on the Borough Council and it is hoped they will approve the registration. 

Update (late December 2023)

The Campaign for Real Ale Pubs Protection Officer has spoken at length with Basingstoke & Deane and it is hoped the result will be available later in January. 

It was a very positive discussion.

There is an excellent summary of ACVs here:
ACV PROTECTION

*As part of the requests residents also asked that an ACV be registered for Testbourne Swimming Pool. That too is proceeding.

Bob Phillips – RIP – A pioneer of the local cask ale scene

Bob Phillips 1945 – 2023

There was much sadness this week on hearing the news of the passing of Bob Phillips, a true stalwart of the cask ale scene, supporter of pubs and breweries and an early pioneer in the local Campaign for Real Ale – he was one of the best. If it were not for Bob, 40 years ago when he sent me a handwritten note about a local social in the Bell at Whitchurch, I would never have been such a supporter of the pub as such an important social centre for community life. (John B.)

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Bob and CAMRA and Beer Festivals
Bob was among the earliest members of the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and was instrumental in fighting the 'real ale cause' in the days when traditional cask beer was under threat of extinction.

He was involved in the first local beer festivals in north Hampshire, and living in Overton with his family he instigated the long-running Overton Beer Festival as well as events in Andover and Basingstoke.

Events, bus trips, visits
Bob also organised many events with local pubs, sometimes taking a cask of beer to place on the bar to introduce the traditional brew to local drinkers. For many years he arranged 'Beer Buses' to rural hostelries for CAMRA members to compete with local customers at darts, pool and dominoes all with the aim of widening the appeal of his favourite drink through socialising. Countless breweries were also visited, throughout the south, with full coach loads being the norm.

Marches and campaigning
He was also very active in campaigning matters, taking part in marches to condemn brewery closures when the big brewery companies of the 1970s/80s like Whitbread, Allied and Watneys were closing local breweries and monopolising beer supplies, restricting drinkers' choice throughout the UK.

Kind, warm-hearted, community spirit
Bob was down to earth, kind and a friend to many, and worked as did so many other local people at the Portals Mill in Overton. In more recent years he had moved to Whitchurch, where in one role he drove the Community Bus helping elderly residents with shopping, their Post Office visits to collect pensions and in reaching the doctors' surgery for appointments. Of course in his social time he was often found in several of the pubs with his pint in hand and was always willing for a friendly chat.

He tragically lost his first wife Chris at a young age, but then later met Alice with whom he settled with much contentment. Sadly Alice passed away just two months ago, and now Bob has joined her in peace.

They will never be forgotten.

RIP

Appeal lost on saving the Red House

After more than 200 years of providing service to the local people and visitors a Government Planning Inspector has ruled that the historic Red House in Whitchurch can be turned into two residential dwellings.
But time is moving on and the building continues to deteriorate.

The Red House is a Grade II Listed building within the Whitchurch Conservation Area and was a registered Asset of Community Value meeting many of the social and economic needs of the town.

However, in considering the application for a Change of Use the Inspector stated:

Evidence before me demonstrates that there is ample alternative provision within Whitchurch. Whilst other pubs in the town may not have a family garden or play facilities, they provide a very similar offer to that which was provided at the appeal building. 

 

Additionally, other businesses provide additional restaurant and takeaway options, and there are other venues available for meeting and socialising in a manner that would meet community needs and support well-being. I am therefore unable to accept that it is necessary for the existing business to remain open to meet an essential need that is not adequately provided elsewhere within the town.

It is suggested that the use of the building could be adapted to provide a reduced pub offer or some format of community hub, with the potential for the part conversion of the building. There is however nothing to suggest that there is a demand or need to retain the building in this format.

Major blow to local amenity protection
This decision is a major blow to those who wish to see the Whitchurch become a town that can provide adequate services to its residents. With major housing developments planned that would expand the town the need to retain existing amenities is seen to be essential.

The owner is always a custodian of a pub's value
When someone takes on a public house they also become a custodian of a social amenity for the community. The present owners are now converting that community value into finance for their own personal benefit, a process many consider should not be permitted.