A dispute over the presence of a bus at a reopened village pub and other issues raised by a neighbour have been resolved following a meeting.
The Swan pub in Three Mile Cross has been open for more than a year after it was brought back into use by landlady Charlotte Grant early in 2024.
However, there has been a dispute over the presence of a bus that was previously parked at Lambs Lane Primary School in the village.
Daniel Dursley, a neighbour, argued that the presence of the bus had caused a nuisance and also claimed that glass bottles had been thrown into his garden.
He subsequently requested that the licence for the pub be reviewed by Wokingham Borough Council, the responsible authority.
On the presence of the bus, Ms Grant said: “The Local school wanted to get it removed, so my partner and staff worked together to get it for my birthday.
“It was really lovely, it brought joy to everyone, everyone was so happy – I had visits by police and council multiple times, and they said ‘ you are doing nothing wrong’.”
Mr Dursley did concede that his complaints were focused on outdoor activities, rather than what happened inside the pub itself.
He said: “No comments have been added or any information has been provided that activities within the building have caused issues.
“It’s solely the outdoor due to the proximity of people’s houses and gardens. ”
A question was also raised over whether a side building with a bar could be used.
Council licensing officer Kieran Hinchliffe suggested that a variation to the licence would resolve that issue.
Ms Grant maintains that this second bar is covered in the current licence.
She said: “I have brought it back to life. With that life does come noise, unfortunately, and I would try to work with everyone as much as I can, it’s a village pub where people want to come and have fun. ”
On Mr Dursley’s complaints, she argued that the discarded glass may not have been from her pub, and that the stress of the review had affected her health.
Ultimately, councillors decided to impose new conditions on the licence.
The most notable condition is that all licensable activities, including hosting live music and films and sale of food and drink must take place inside.
If Ms Grant wishes to, she can apply for a variation of the licence to extend activities outside.
The bus will be alarmed so that pub management is notified when people enter it, with CCTV also being installed in the bus facing the garden.
The decision was made by councillors Pauline Jorgensen (Conservative, Hillside), Rebecca Margetts and Beth Rowland (Liberal Democrats, South Lake) following a licensing and appeals hearing sub-committee meeting on September 22.
The decision was issued five working days after the meeting.
