An urgent meeting was convened by Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) official Mark Haslam to discuss the fate of The Broadleys pub, which has been acquired by Killick & Co Trustees. They have submitted plans for partial demolition to make way for a drive-thru coffee shop. The pub ceased trading to customers in August 2024. The public gathering took place at the Welsh Social Club on Hinton Road on Tuesday, April 7, with Mr Haslam and resident David Preedy, who previously spearheaded the effort to save the Ross Road watering hole.

Mr Haslam acknowledged that the pub would need some refurbishment to be “fit for purpose.” “It needs a bit of TLC. It doesn’t need millions of pounds spending on it,” he stated. “It just needs to be welcoming. And what it needs to provide, it’s not what the Broadleys is today, it’s what it can be tomorrow, and you don’t need to spend a million pounds to get it there.”

The veteran campaigner, who has fought through prior periods of uncertainty, including plans to repurpose the building into a supermarket, argued that pub companies are “wrecking our pub industry, and in this case, they’re damaging a community.” He challenged the applicants’ claim that the pub’s viability has declined due to tenant turnover, citing high rents imposed by pub corporations, and urged the submission of accounts to the council to substantiate the claim.

Paul Lunnon, whose wife Rachel led the pub for eight years before stepping back due to rising costs, suggested the outcome might be different if the site were owned as a private freehold. He also voiced concern over the absence of a publicly accessible pub in the Redhill area, noting that many elderly residents cannot travel to The Vaga Tavern in Hunderton. “You do get quite an old generation in there, which have been going in there for 40 years some of them. Stay updated with all the latest Herefordshire news that matters to you! Read the local news and stay informed with our advert-free app…”

Haslam urged attendees to file objections to the proposed plans, insisting that the community must “provide the opportunity for someone to come and buy it because otherwise it will be lost.”