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CAMRA Pub Heritage Group update – June

Three Star Heritage Pubs Bell, Walton-on-the-Hill, Surrey (above) The planning application for change of use to residential, which was covered in May, has been approved by Reigate and Banstead Borough Council. Approval was granted despite numerous passionate objections from the local community and an application by owner Brakspear as it did not include sufficient evidence of the marketing of the pub as a going concern, which is a requirement of the local plan. This unique pub known locally at the Rat is included on the inventory for its intact tworoom interior which dates to the rebuilding of the pub in around 1955. It is still currently operating, but barring a dramatic change of fortune, it seems inevitable that it will be lost.