A PETITION has been launched by a pub landlord in a bid to stop it being demolished.
Simon Carter, who runs the Jolly Farmer in Woodrow, has started a campaign to stop the Woodrow Drive site from being bulldozed and replaced with housing.
An outline planning application by Malvern Estates and Unique Pub Properties has been submitted to Redditch Borough Council to transform the site into 14 three and four bedroom houses.
But more than 300 people have signed the petition so far, including residents, regular drinkers as well as the owners of The Woodrow pub in the nearby district centre.
Mr Carter told the Standard: “It is at the heart of the local community and we have done a lot of fund-raising events here. It seems criminal that it could be going.
“We don’t struggle with getting people through the doors and there is never any trouble.
“There’s no other pub in this area and it seems to me we are losing too many. They want to rip out something which means so much to people for more housing.
“They should be supporting pubs and trying to keep them open, not getting rid of them. A lot of our regulars are upset by this.
“And for me it’s not only my job, it’s my house, it’s everything.”
Paul Richards, the chairman of Redditch and Bromsgrove CAMRA which campaigns for real ale pubs, said they were disappointed by the move.
“It’s a great pub which has had both real ales and real ciders on tap in the past and we have been urging residents to sign the petition and show their objection to this application.
There are also no other places there where people can meet – Woodrow really does need its community pub.”
The Standard was unable to contact Malvern Estates and Unique Pub Properties but in its planning application, the company states there are a total of 40 pubs in Redditch, several of which are located between one and two miles of the Jolly Farmer and the plans would therefore not create a loss of amenity to residents.
They added it would also contribute to the town’s housing requirements.
The petition is due to be handed in to the borough council today (Friday).
