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The Horseshoe Inn is adjacent to Dymock: famous for the Dymock Poets, and for spring daffodils.

the 2009 planning application

In September 2009, the Tweedales made a new planning application to change the use of the Horseshoe Inn from a pub to a private house. The details are on the Forest of Dean DC web site.

The Tweedales were given change of use, but that does not necessarily mean the end of the Horseshoe as a pub. The decision can be read here. There were conditions attached to the permission; Condition 2 states:
"The bed and breakfast use, hereby permitted shall be implemented in accordance with Drawings TWE/200/60, TWE/200/61, and TWE/200/63. These commercial areas shall be retained thereafter and not used for residential accommodation for the approved dwelling unit or as independent residential use."

The long and short of this is that the new building can be used only for b&b. If it were used as part of the house, that would be in breach of the Planning Condition. The implication is that the fat capital gains which might have been expected from this permission are unlikely to be realised, and that on resale, the Horseshoe Inn is likely to be marketed at pub prices rather than private house prices. This would leave open the possibility of its being bought later for conversion back to its original use (ie: as a pub). However, that seems unlikely to be soon.

It is regrettable that Forest of Dean DC accepted the Tweedale version of pub viability. Clearly a triumph of PowerPoint over reality. The Horseshoe was viable when it was bought and summarily closed; there were several people who wrote to the Council stating that they were prepared to buy the Horseshoe to run it as a pub (two were publicans). In the face of such evidence it seems inconceivable that anyone could regard it as not viable. But, it appears that, regardless of what you know about the subject, if you generate enough 'evidence' you can create a persuasive case.

There has consistently been a large number of people in the local community who support the re-opening of the Horseshoe as a pub, and who are very resentful of the Tweedales who bought it and immediately closed it. Over 150 people wrote the Council in support. Unfortunately, not all the letters found their way to the FoDDC web site.

The planning application is on the Forest of Dean web site. See here.

HIC has made comments to the Forest of Dean DC. You can read them here.

The draft minutes of the Planning Committee meeting are here.

the 2005 planning application, Enforcement, and appeal

The Tweedales made a new planning application for the Horseshoe (in March 2005). They withdrew it before it went to the Forest of Dean Development Committee. There is some of the background here and here.

Forest of Dean placed an Enforcement Notice on the Tweedales to seek to have them use the Horseshoe as a pub. They appealed against that and there was a public inquiry in Coleford over three days (29 and 30 November, 22 December). You can read the papers which were submitted to the inquiry here. In particular, the response of the Horseshoe Inn Companions is here (NB: this file is 2.5MB).

The decision from the Public Inquiry is now available. See here