Final straw planning battle to keep Cambridgeshire pub Lazy Otter closed

In the late 18^th century, it was named the ‘Charles in Oak’ pub, attributed to gossip that the then King Charles once hid in an oak tree nearby to escape Cromwell’s soldiers. In 2024 Rita Walsh, the current owner of the pub, now of course better known as the Lazy Otter at Stretham near Ely probably wishes she could hide to escape the onslaught of planning and enforcement officers demanding she re-opens it for beer and wine drinking customers.

Her latest application – to use it a guest house – is before East Cambridgeshire District Council planners.

Mrs Walsh has, to date, lost every round of her bid to convert the pub to her home since she and her husband snapped it up off an asking price of £475,000 after it had previously been advertised for sale for £600,000.

She has also claimed she and her partner “definitely had no intention of re-opening it as a pub when they bought it in 2021.

“It was a topic of conversation we had on more than one occasion with both the owners and the agent,” she said.

“We purposely asked that if it were going to be a problem, we would not enter an offer.

“They told us making an offer wouldn’t be a problem and the agent reminded us that we just needed to obtain the correct planning approval.”

After losing a planning battle to convert it to her home – a decision upheld on appeal – and East Cambridgeshire District Council refusing even to consider a refreshed application for it to become residential only, Mrs Walsh is left with a last throw of the planning dice.

Prior to its closure in the early 2020/2021, the previous company running it was Bangers and Mash Ltd, owned by Annette Gwinnett.

“I am sad to announce that The Lazy Otter has closed its doors and ceased trading,” she explained at the time.

“I have had an amazing 10 years here and it has been a pleasure to welcome you and look after you and share in all the laughs along the way.”

What was not readily known that on August 5 2020 joint liquidators had been appointed to her trading company.

A special resolution concluded that “it has been proved to the satisfaction of this meeting that the company cannot by reason of its liabilities continue its business and that it is advisable to wind up the same and accordingly that the company be wound up voluntarily”.

The final accounts showed little by way of money available for creditors, £140,000 owed to unsecured creditors, and a further £250,000 to Ms Gwinnett.

But it could be a public statement from Ms Gwinnett that the Lazy Otter once had “three en-suite rooms at the otter are individually designed and equipped with all the little extras to make your stay comfortable” which Rita Walsh is hopeful might support her efforts to untangle the increasingly complex planning issues.

East Cambridgeshire District Council clearly thinks so having accepted her recent application, unlike the previous application which was refused out of hand.

The threat of enforcement however remains and the notice, dated 29^th June 2022, from the council’s legal team remains. It gave her nine months from 3^rd August 2022 to ‘cease the unauthorised use of the public house and land as an independent residential unit (Use Class C3)”.

Refusing to even consider a simple reversion to residential only, as recently as June of this year the council reminded Ms Walsh that in their opinion her application “is similar to an appeal against a refusal of planning permission which was dismissed by the Planning Inspectorate”.

“The council considers that since the appeal there has been no significant change in the relevant considerations, including the absence of any significant new material information in the current application”.

“Furthermore, the granting of the retrospective development proposed by the current application would involve granting permission for matters specified in a pre-existing enforcement notice.

“Consequently, I am writing to inform you that the Local Planning Authority is exercising its right under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 (as amended) to DECLINE TO DETERMINE the above referenced application.

“Please note there is no right of appeal against the council’s decision to exercise its power to decline to determine the application. If you wish to challenge the legality of the council’s decision, you would need to apply for Judicial Review.”

The council is being asked to consider the latest application by Ms Walsh in which she outlines a business plan for what she calls ‘the old Lazy Otter pub’ on Cambridge Road, Stretham.

She has provided details of room configurations to separate private residency from guests.

“To maximize the available floor space, it is proposed to transform the existing kitchen area into owners accommodation, incorporating the side entrance which would afford some privacy and separation from the shared areas,” she says.

“There will be some refurbishment, repair and redecorating required to the bar and restaurant area, but the proposal is to install a new kitchen within the existing bar area to become the customer breakfast area.

“The current restaurant area with access to the rear garden will become customer lounge/games room/tv area.”

Her plans shows the re-naming of rooms, proposed dividing wall for owners accommodation and proposed kitchen.

The proposal also includes for the area marked as ‘cellar’ on the existing floor plan to become an en-suited guest bedroom with its own dedicated entrance.

“Advertising can be done through a variety of accommodation websites, but we have already started to contact local businesses that would be interested in accommodation for staff, temps,” she says.

“As RSPB members, we are also in the process of contacting the RSPB to include this property as interest for birdwatchers.”

In the early days of it being owned by Ms Walsh, a petition to retain it as a public house attracted over 800 signatures.

That seems unlikely and she has assembled a massive wad of documents to show the unlikelihood of anyone wanting to buy it for use as public house.

Guy Simmons, a leading property agent for the licensed trade, says his company marketed it from 7^th January 2019 to the end of January 2021.

They say that “although we had some interest, including several viewings, we were not able to secure a sale despite our best efforts”.

Everard Cole, another principal agent, told Ms Walsh that 3,000 prospective parties were contacted to potentially buy it, and it was extensively marketed.

A handful of applicants – three – attended an opening viewing on October 15^th, 2021, with ‘best and final offers’ requested by October 20^th, 2021.

A sale was agreed, to Ms Walsh, on October 27^th, 2021, and completed on November 30^th, 2021, when it was “removed from all external sites and marked ‘sold’ on Everard Cole website”.

Owner Rita  Walsh has, to date, lost every round of her bid to convert the Lazy Otter at Stretham, Cambridgeshire, to her home since she and her husband snapped it up off an asking price of £475,000 after it had previously been advertised for sale for £600,000 PHOTO: Nicky Still