Saved the Crook Inn?
Update 18/06/08
There are two important events to report. The first is that the Crook Inn owner has decided to appeal to the Scottish Government against the decision made by Tweeddale Planning Committee.
This is obviously frustrating, as we want our pub back! However, the Tweedsmuir Community Company (TCC) has asked to speak at the hearing, and we will put forward the arguments voiced by the vast majority of the community. We expect to be allowed to represent the community in this way, and suggest that this might be the most efficient way for the hundreds of interested parties to have their voice heard. The Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeals will have sent all those who objected to the application, a letter asking if they are happy to "group" with other parties. If you have received this letter and are happy to allow the TCC to speak on your behalf, then please let the directorate and the TCC know.
The second important event is the successful registration of the Community interest in the Crook Inn, i.e. We've won our Community Right to Buy!
We are all delighted and we believe it validates the argument that the Crook Inn is far from being non viable as the current owner insists it is. The community can see it's potential, the Government can see it's potential, the Councilors can see it's potential, it seems the only people who can't are the owner and the Borders planning department.
Winning the Right to Buy is a huge step forward for us and we sincerely hope the owner will now enter into discussions with us so we can come to an amicable and mutually beneficial arrangement for it's sale.
Update 25/3/08
The planning application has been unanimously rejected by the Tweeddale planning committee! And not only that, they have declared that the application will not be referred to any other planning committee within the Borders. This means, the only recourse the owner has is to appeal to the Scottish Government. He may choose to do this, but we are now very confident we would win such an appeal.
Update 24/3/08
The owner of the Crook Inn have demanded that the planning application be re-considered at the next meeting which is tonight. His legal advisor has suggested that the council were not within their rights to insist he market the Inn to demonstrate it was not a viable business. It seems a bit strange to us that he didn't make this objection a year ago when they first asked him to do it. Why was it acceptable then but not now?
The planning meeting will be held at Rossetta Road in Peebles at 6.30 pm, and you can be assured that the community will be there in force once again. We just hope that our councillors will hold firm and either insist he remarkets the Inn, or they simply reject his application outright.
Update 28/1/08 20:00
We've won the battle! Despite the planning officer stating his support for the application, the Tweeddale councillors were unanimous in their dismissal of the application. The only difference of opinion was the best way to reject it. Some wanted just to turn it down flat, the rest wanted to force Inverwest Ltd. into remarketing at a realistic price. In the end, the latter option was selected, which is extremely positive news for the community. As even if we were to fail in our attempt to secure the Community Right to Buy, when marketed at a realistic price, we know there are people out there who recognise the excellent business opportunity the Crook Inn represents.
So we've not saved the Crook yet, but things are definately looking a lot more positive for the old girl.
Update 28/1/08
Yes it's crunch time! Tonight the council decides whether a four hundred year old Inn that is a keystone of Tweedsmuir community can continue in this role, or whether it would be better turned into commuter flats.
It might be worth just putting the loss of the Crook into context, as not everyone lives in a small rural community, and might be wondering why such a fuss is being made over a pub.
Tweedsmuir is one of those rare places that still has a thriving and vibrant community. It's usually a shock for new residents to move here and discover we do actually all know each other, and we do things as a community from Burn's suppers to Curry nights, from Film shows to Tug 'o' war competitions. It has it's disadvantages of course, everyone is interested in your business, and they say the Tweedsmuir gossip network makes the internet seem pedestrian in comparison. But the advantages of having a group of people who genuinely care about you and your family, and who you know you can rely on when things go wrong is something that is nowadays rare and valuable.
The community and the rural lifestyle it stems from is however under intense pressure. In recent years Tweedsmuir has seen the loss of it's school, it's shop, it's post office, it's public transport. As one of Tweedsmuir's last remaining assets, the Crook Inn plays a pivotal role within the community as a meeting place, a place to have fun, a place to do business, a place of employment and training, a place to reinforce the ties of friendship that underpin our community.
So, when we say we want to save the Crook Inn, please realise that for us it's much more than a pub, it's an opportunity to turn around the fortunes of Tweedsmuir and start to rebuild what we have lost and what has been taken from us.
Update 22/1/08
Some nice person has sent us an advance copy of the Planning Department's report .
We had hoped the report from the District Valuer would have caused the planning department to think again, but we were wrong. We've included the report here because we think people need to see it.
We don't think it states anything new, and we've addressed the issues here. The fact that the planning officer has decided to completely dismiss and ignore what we have said is hugely frustrating.
We have shown that Inverwest Ltd. have presented flawed and erroneous information in support of their application
We have shown that the so called marketing of the Inn was a complete farce.
We've shown that the Inn has and can be run profitably, and there are buyers willing to pay a fair price for it.
All of this has been ignored and the word of the owner taken without question by the Planning Department. Even the evidence they requested themselves has not been considered.
We are confused at how the Scottish Borders Planning department can come to a decision that seems to go so strongly against opinion and evidence. In the light of this and whatever the outcome of this application, we will be calling for an independent investigation of the way this application has been handled.
Update 16/1/08
The valuation report has been leaked to the local paper, The Peeblesshire News, and shortly after the planning department placed it on their website, and guess what? It has been valued at between £150,000 and £200,000 less than the property was marketed at. The District Valuer states that the property does have the potential to return to hotel use. Surely this means that the planning department cannot accept Inverwest Ltd. assertion that it has been marketed properly and there is no interest? They may look a bit silly supporting it at the last meeting without this information, but at least they can now do the right thing and reject the application.
Update 15/1/08
Good news! Our registration of community interest in the Crook Inn has been accepted. This is the first stage of implementing the Right to Buy legislation, and it means the Crook cannot be sold to anyone until the Scottish Government decide whether to uphold our application. This shouldn't take too long, we should know some time in February.
Update 14/1/08
We have produced a press release, to state the position of Tweedsmuir Residents, and to try and highlight the ridiculous nature of the stance taken by Scottish Borders Planning Department. You can read it here. We've been trying to get the planning department to release the valuation of the Crook, but they are refusing to make this information public. Perhaps it makes their decision to support the application seem a bit odd?
Update 17/12/07
The planning application was to be considered by the Tweeddale Area Committee. A large nuber of Tweedsmuir residents attended the meeting and were shocked to hear the planning officer Barry Fotheringham state he supported the application, despite the fact he had not received the report from the Valuation Office, and could therefore not determine whether the Crook had been marketed properly.
It seems he would have been happy to continue with his report and push the application through, even without the evidence his own office stated it needed. Fortunately, the councillors present weren't quite as eager to push the application through and asked him to come back on the 28th of January when he has all the information he was supposed to have.
Obviously the residents of Tweedsmuir are stunned by the attitude and behaviour of the planning department. We have lobbied them repeatedly and tried to draw attention to the fact the Crook was grossly overpriced, and also that the accounts presented by Inverwest Ltd, that supposedly support the closure of the Crook Inn were flawed to the point of being absolute nonsense.
If Scottish Borders planning department does not consider it neccesary to either check the validity of the information passed to it by an applicant, or to listen to Scottish Borders residents when they tell them something is 'fishy' we really don't have much hope of them rejecting this application.
Update 16/10/07
The first meeting of the Tweedsmuir Community Company was held at Tweedsmuir Village Hall on the evening of the fourteenth of October. The purpose of the meeting was to elect directors and decide who should be the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Secretary.
The result of this meeting was the following eleven members of the community are directors.
In addition to these community members, it was decided to look for three additional directors from outwith the community. It was also decided to try and find someone with suitable experience and spare time to undertake the role of secretary. A number of individuals were suggested, and will be contacted shortly.
Update 1/10/07
A meeting of community members was held at Tweedsmuir Hall on the evening of Sunday the 30th of September. During this meeting Richard Frew, the Head of the Land Reform Branch of the Scottish Government gave an extremely valuable talk on the process of registering a Community Interest in land. Richard was able to answer questions from community members, and provided the community with some very valuable advice and insights relating to the registration process.
It has been decided tthat the election of directors should be postponed until Sunday the 14th of October. This decision was taken to ensure that there was sufficient time for all prospective directors to make their intentions known.
At this meeting, it was possible for community members to join the Tweedsuir Community company as ordinary members. Ordinary members must pay £1 to register,and once registration has taken place they will be able to vote on community company related matters. A letter will be sent to all eligible community members in the next week inviting them to join. Also within this letter will be an invitation for all prospective directors to register for the election by contacting Community Councillor Andrew Mason via the contact email of this website. If you wish to become a director, a short description of your reasons for doing so would be very useful.
The minutes of the meeting can be read here.
Update 17/9/07
A letter has been lodged with the planning department from R &W Hall, the estate agents employed by the owner of The Crook Inn. This letter can be read here , and puts the case for the owner having no alternative but to pursue his planning application due to the premises being unsaleable as a going concern at the current asking price.
In response, a public meeting was held on Saturday the fifteenth of September. At this meeting, the community expressed a very strong desire to pursue the purchase of the Crook Inn using the 'Community Right To Buy' legislation. To this end, 'The Tweedsmuir Community Company' has been created, and nominations for directors are welcomed. The elections for these posts will take place at Tweedsmuir Hall on Sunday the thirtieth of September at six pm. There are fifteen posts available, twelve of which can be filled from Tweedsmuir Community, and three are available to non-community members.
For the purposes of this application, Tweedsmuir Community has been defined as the area covered by the following postcodes:
If you fall within these postcode areas and are on the electoral register, you are eligible to be a full member of the Tweedsmuir Community Company, and can apply to be a director if you wish. Nominations will be taken on the night, or via the contact email for this website.
As part of the registration process, signatures of Tweedsmuir Community members who support the buyout are being collected. A requirement of the process is that we have a minimum of 10% support, within three days of the public meeting numbers approached 80% support, with expectations that this will top 90% by the time the registration is submitted.
We sincerely hope that those of you who are intrested in saving the Crook, but are outwith the boundary, understand that this definition was a requirement of the application, and does not mean Tweedsmuir Community doesn't need your help and support in the coming months, you will as ever, be very welcome to attend meetings and help us in the fight to save The Crook Inn.
The Crook Inn is the Oldest Licensed Coaching Inn in Scotland.
For over 400 years in the rural community of Tweedsmuir, it has provided a meeting place, a place to catch up with friends and neighbours, a place to do business, a post office, a place to shelter in difficult times, a place for Robert Burns to write poetry, and inspiration to John Buchan.
The Inn is full of fascinating period features such as an early 17th century bar, and has many art deco features that are unique in this part of Scotland
This is now under threat because the increase in house prices makes it more attractive for the current owner to close the pub and turn it into flats.
Come back to this website soon for more information as it becomes available.
If you have any information you want to pass on to the 'Save the Crook' campaign you can do so via this email: