Storm Darragh succeeded where East Cambridgeshire Council had failed in removing the iconic Alice in Wonderland themed 3-metre tall promotional coffee cup from outside of an Ely pub. The High Flyer had previously won the day after putting ‘Britishness’ at the heart of its appeal against enforcement action to remove the giant promotional tea cup.
Ironically, the pub using the rolled polystyrene giant cuppa had confirmed to a planning inspector who ruled in their favour that it would likely only remain for 2 years.
That period, although coming to an end shortly, was cut short by Storm Darragh on Sunday.
Great British Inns, who own the High Flyer, was told by East Cambridgeshire District Council the cup was “an unsympathetic and incongruous addition”.
“We are proud of our family friendly establishments that serve traditional British fayre cooked from fresh ingredients at very competitive prices,” said managing director Jason Tudor after winning an appeal.
And he said that before they acquired the High Flyer it had been a commercial failure.
The giant cuppa was acquired off E-Bay but originally commissioned by Network Rail in 2014 to celebrate the launch of a solar bridge at Blackfriars station, London.
Mr Tudor said: “We are proud of our British heritage, so this permeates all of our brand values and is consistent with the interiors of our establishments, our merchandising and brand promotions.
“It is also a driver of where we choose to locate our establishments‐ hence our choice of The High Flyer and Ely for our portfolio”
He said the tea cup was intended to be “slightly iconoclastic but tastefully presented more as art than commerce‐ albeit we acknowledge that it is there for a purpose”.
Planning inspector David Reed had ruled in the pub’s favour, describing it as “a large three dimensional ‘mug’ structure of white plastic-coated polystyrene, about 3.1 m high and 1.8 m wide, set on a 0.5 m plinth and projecting about 1.55 m”.
He said: “The mug wraps around the projecting chimney breast on the end of the 19th century buff brickwork building and has been painted with an advertisement comprising black lettering and Alice in Wonderland themed artwork.
“The mug was installed to draw attention to the refurbishment and rebranding of the public house at the end of the last lockdown.
“This seems to have been successful with numerous letters submitted both in support and against the feature and a petition of 1,113 names supporting its retention on the basis that it enhances the streetscape and brings joy to many local citizens.”
The cup’s colourful Alice in Wonderland theme was provided by artist Neil Arms.
One resident insists “Ely has been mugged by this eyesore” although another described it as “pretty cool”.
The council said the pictorial image which forms part of the advert has been reproduced from John Tenniel’s 1865 illustrations for Alice in Wonderland.
“And therefore, to draw an analogy with original street art such as the works of ‘Banksy’ is misplaced,” said a council statement.
“Public art should be unique, ideally created by an artist in response to a specific site and not, as in this case, generic marketing material designed to attract customers into a coffee shop.”
It added: “The presence of a giant mug on the side of a building has drawn attention, however, it is unlikely that visitors would necessarily be attracted to Ely for this sole purpose.
“Therefore, to be labelled as a tourist attraction is unfounded and is not justification to support the advertisement when considering amenity and public safety.
“As with any other advertising gimmicks once this has been viewed, it is doubtful whether visitors would need to see it again.”
