Grade II listed Deddington pub to become a house?

The Crown and Tuns was last open in 2023

by Esme Kenney, Local Democracy Reporter

A grade-II listed pub in an Oxfordshire village which dates to the 18th century could be turned into a family home.

Applicant Ms Stephanie Aspin submitted the change of use application for the former Crown and Tuns pub in Deddington, south of Banbury.

The pub has been formally closed since May 28, 2023.

The property was originally built as a residential farmhouse, and was later converted into an inn, sometime in the early 1800s.

After the pub closed, Hook Norton Breweries put it up for sale as a pub or commercial premises for two years, before it was sold as a residential property.

The planning statement says the efforts to sell the building as a pub were “unsuccessful, despite the asking price being lowered several times – and significantly – over the period, showing a real willingness to sell as a commercial property”.

It adds: “This prolonged and unsuccessful campaign provides compelling evidence that there is no viable commercial interest in operating The Crown & Tuns as a public house.

“The existence of multiple thriving pubs in Deddington and surrounding villages further confirms that the non-viability is site-specific to The Crown & Tuns, not just a reflection of a wider decline in the local pub market.

“It is noted that prominent local residents worry that the re-opening of The Crown & Tuns as a public house would be to the detriment of the other pubs already open, especially in light of The Red Lion recently being up for lease.”

Under the plans, the rooms on the ground floor would largely retain their current use, with the bar area becoming a sitting room and the male and female toilets becoming a downstairs toilet and utility room.

The large ground floor fireplace would be retained as a “principal historic feature” of the building.

A separate application to reinstate the ground floor staircase was also submitted.

There is currently living accommodation on two floors with a self-contained flat with bedroom, reception and bathroom on the first floor.

There storeroom would become a bedroom, the dining room and reception room would become bedrooms and their walls would be shifted slightly to accommodate the central staircase.

The modern plasterboard wall creating a study, with no windows, in the first-floor dining room would be removed.

On the second floor, there are two bedrooms, a kitchenette, storage and a bathroom.

Cherwell District Council recently refused plans to convert The Bell Inn in Great Bourton into a family home, after a campaign was launched to save it.

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Published: 01/08/2025 12:52pm by the Banbury FM News Team

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