Pub stripped of ACV status to become Co-op store

The Star Inn in Wych Hill was listed as an ACV after it was nominated by local community group the Hook Heath Resident’s Association, but the pub lost its ACV status at a review after it was ruled the pub did not ‘further the social wellbeing or interests of the community.’

Head of Democratic and Legal Services Peter Bryant said that the community group had not provided evidence that the pub served the local community in the recent past and also pointed to an email from a local councillor which said the pub had fallen into decline following managers who ‘tended to cater to younger, rowdy, non-residents of the local area.’

Woking Borough Council approved the application to turn the pub into a Co-op, ruling that a shop could be a ‘similarly valued facility’ and the building works would not be harmful to the building, which is listed.

A letter of objection from the Hook Heath’s Resident Association argued that residents wanted to see the Star Inn turned into a gastro pub, that it was the only facility that provided food, drink and accommodation within easy distance and that the area was already ‘well served by supermarkets.’