Baron at Bucknell owners drop plan to turn it into house

The owners of a south Shropshire pub and restaurant have dropped plans to turn it into a house, it has been revealed.

Fears had been raised the Baron at Bucknell could shut after landlords Phil and Debra Wright applied to Shropshire Council for planning permission to turn the building into a house.

But Mr Wright has now withdrawn the plans – and revealed a dispute with Herefordshire Council over tourist signs advertising the pub was at the heart of their decision to make the initial application.

He said the authority was preparing to prosecute the pub for erecting homemade signs on the A4113 near the village. But Herefordshire Council has withdrawn the prosecution to review its signage policy.

Mr Wright claimed he and his wife had applied for official brown tourism signs to be set up on the A4113 when they bought the pub in 2006 only for Herefordshire Council to refuse. They then set up their own homemade signs after claiming to have been given permission by a senior highways officer.

Mr Wright said: "Our hope now is that Herefordshire Council will realise the damaging effect their current interpretation of policies is having on rural tourism."

Alison Grange, press spokeswoman for Herefordshire Council, said: "We are withdrawing the prosecution until our review of our signage policy is complete."