LOCALS have been left on the verge of tears after a new landlord took over their quiet village pub and painted the Grade II listed building bright yellow.
The Half Moon and Seven Stars in Preston, Kent, has served pints to the locals of the peaceful countryside village since the 16th century.
The Half Moon and Seven Stars was painted a bright yellow with green trim around the windows and doors[/caption]
The small village of Preston is home to just 700 people[/caption]
The pub now looks out of place with the quaint thatched cottages and Tudor-style homes lining the main road[/caption]
The boozer is one of only three businesses in the village, alongside a family run butcher and a local corner shop, and was originally built in 1672.
In January of this year the previous owners, a couple who have now retired, handed the keys over to a publican who runs another bar in a nearby town and operates a demolition company.
Ever since, the Half Moon and Seven Stars has “gone downhill” according to some locals.
The final straw was when the new owner painted the listed building an in-your-face bright yellow a month ago.
Paint job
Locals were frustrated at the gradual loss of the establishment’s heritage under its new ownership and were furious when it culminated with the overnight, unsanctioned paint job.
Residents of Preston told The Sun that they woke up one morning to find their beloved boozer had been covered with layers of bright yellow paint, its windows trimmed in green.
Now, the bright yellow building stands out in stark contrast to the thatched roofs and Tudor-style cottages of the rest of the village.
Residents of Preston told The Sun: “You can see it from space” adding that it’s “not in keeping” with the surrounding conservation area.
Jenny Ralph, 78, has lived in the small village since 2011, she told The Sun: “I used to go in there a lot. I was just shocked because it’s an old building. I couldn’t believe that they even thought of doing that, it’s really cruel I think.
“We all used to love going up there but I’ve not gone in since, we needed that, it was like going into my second home. I loved the pub. The first time I went by I could have cried, I couldn’t believe they’d done such a thing.
“Surely no one would agree to that. I can’t believe what I’m seeing. We’ve got a lovely village here, really lovely.”
Preston locals want to see the pub returned to its original black and white, saying that changing the listed building’s heritage so dramatically amounts to “cruelty.”
The Half Moon and Seven stars, sitting on the main road through the quiet village, now stands out as a garish monument and the first thing visitors see when they come to Preston, as one resident said: “It’s hard to miss.”
Lee-Ann Redbourne, 45, who lives just a stones throw away from the bar, told The Sun: “We’ve seen the ‘yellowness’ of the pub.
“It just doesn’t fit with the village, the history of the village, it just looks like an eyesore really.
“One day it was just sort of done. It was lovely in there.
“The food was terrible, really, really bad.”
Jenny Ralph has lived in the village for over a decade and almost cried when she saw the yellow pub[/caption]
Locals say the new colour scheme is not in keeping with the historic village[/caption]
The 16th century pub has served booze to locals for generations[/caption]
“Gone downhill”
The pub used to serve the village as an events space, social club and community hub with Preston’s 700 residents coming together in the building in the evenings and on weekends to enjoy the small village’s community spirit.
But under the new regime, locals say the bar now lies empty most evenings with some of Preston’s residents avoiding the establishment.
Once locally famous for its slap up roast dinners the pub has left punters disappointed with the food on offer under the new owner.
Philip Hodtson, 86, has lived in the village for 15 years and decided to give the pub’s new owners a chance, visiting with his wife and friends for food.
He said: “We tried it with the new people there and was a bit disappointed, we were the only ones there.
“There was no roast dinners we ended up with fish and chips.
“We were a bit disappointed. We went past it a couple of times and my wife was quite shocked really.
“It was excellent in there before and there was loads of people in there all the time.
“We used to go down there quite regularly. We won’t go there again. My wife was really upset when she saw the colour of it.”
On top of providing a much needed social space for Preston’s locals the Half Moon and Seven Stars once offered employment opportunities to the teens of the village.
Oliver Marsden used to work in the pub but has since lost his shifts there[/caption]
The Half Moon and Seven Stars ‘can be seen from space’[/caption]
Under new management however, this came to an end, one 18-year-old told The Sun that shifts began to dry up and youngsters were forced to look elsewhere for their first jobs.
Susan Marsden, 48, told The Sun: “I think it’s a bit of a shame. It’s lost really. We thought it would be good to have someone with pub experience but they don’t really join in. Loads of locals are now going to the Dog and Dart.
“It’s dead in there all the time.”
Susan Marsden, 48, Preston resident
Susan’s son, Oliver, 18, used to work in the Half Moon and Seven Stars, he joked: “It’s like a McDonald’s, great to have a McDonald’s in Preston.”
Oliver said the establishment had “gone downhill very badly“, adding: “I used to work there but they stopped giving us shifts.”
Planning dispute
The landlord is locked in a vicious planning dispute with the local authority over his choice of colour scheme after slapping on layers of the vibrant paint without seeking planning permission.
One man believed the daring paint job was a bid to bring more customers into the declining business by creating a stir, he went on to add that the pub rarely had any visitors under its new management.
Having had disputes with the council over planning permission himself, David Hansin, in his 60s, was furious that the landlord had brazenly ignored the local authority’s red tape.
Other residents told The Sun how they were forced to pay £500 to get planning permission for extensions to their homes and were banned from using UPVC windows on the parts of their houses facing the road.
Dover District Council reportedly strictly guards the village’s looks with the thatched cottages, sprawling country homes and quiet cul-de-sacs protected from rampant remodelling under conservation regulations.
Only two other businesses call Preston home, a small shop and a family-run butcher[/caption]
Preston locals are restricted to limited home improvements by planning regulations[/caption]
David told The Sun: “The pub’s never been busy, I think he just wanted a reaction. I used to go in there but I don’t anymore. It’s a conservation area, you need planning permission but he’s just done it.
“It’s listed and a conservation area. One day it was just black and white the next day it was whatever you call it lime green.
“It’s got to go back to black and white, it’s as simple as that really.”
Speaking about his own planning problems he said: “They’ve (the council) tried to block me. It’s shocking really.”
Under planning rules, changes to a listed building that affect its character, including external colour, usually require listed building consent.
The local authority has confirmed that no permission was sought or granted before the repainting took place.
As well as its listed status the historic pub lies in a conservation area, further restricting what refurbishments can take place in the building.
Local’s said the new landlord had done all the wrong things when he set up shop in the village, David commented: “He’s come down here to the village and gone the wrong way about it.
“He’s upset everyone, He says it’s doing better business but every time I drive past it’s empty.”
One local, who asked not to be named, had previously fallen foul of the council’s red tape and was furious that the Half Moon and Seven Stars’ landlord had blatantly flaunted the planning regulations.
She told The Sun: “It’s awful, you can see it from space. I would question the fact that we’re in a conservation area.
“We’re doing a big extension and the hoops we’ve had to go through to make sure the windows are in line have cost us money before we’ve even got permission, nearly £500.
“For a little quiet village you just sort of think it’s a bit of a shame really.”
“People should keep their noses out”
Not all the residents of Preston are so strongly opposed to the new colour scheme, some applauded the landlord for trying to make a change.
Recent arrivals to the small village thought the paint job would help the town stand out, providing a very obvious landmark for tourists and visitors.
Carol Pannell, 75, has lived in Preston since October and told The Sun that the Half Moon and Seven Stars was “lovely.”
She said: “I love it, everybody knows where it is. People wanna keep their nose out and keep their mouth shut.
“I’m more concerned with the speed people drive through here not the colour of a pub.
“It’s lovely it really is, they’ve gone all out, done the back garden and everything.
“I like it how is. It’s a bit pathetic – if it’s yours paint it.
“They’re keyboard warriors.”
Carrol Pannell, 75, Preston resident
“I’ve got no problem at all you can see what you’re looking for.”
Others saw the bright side of the paint job too, with the pub remaining a drab black and white for decades some said a splash of colour is a welcome change and applauded the effort to make the outside look better.
The paint job is just a small part of the work that has gone on in the pub in recent months with the new landlord telling the BBC he had spent a lot of money on getting the pub up to its present standard.
Dover District Council said: “We are aware of the painting of the Half Moon & Seven Stars Public House, and we continue to look into this matter.”
The Sun has contacted The Half Moon and Seven Stars for comment.
Carol Pannell was thrilled with the new colour scheme, saying ‘everybody knows where it is’[/caption]
The bright yellow building is hard to miss amid a sea of black, white and brown homes[/caption]