Former pub faces new future after 20-year planning battle

The former Pheasant Pluckers Inn in Burdrop, near Banbury, has faced repeated attempts to convert the building into housing.

Also known as the Bishop Blaize and Blaze-Inn Saddles, it has now closed and a fresh planning application seeks to change its use from a public house to a home.

It endured lengthy periods of closure from 2007 and was closed to the general public by August 2025.

The modern planning battle dates back to 2006, when Cherwell District Council refused an application to turn the pub into a home, before rejecting a resubmission the following year.

Further residential schemes were refused in 2012 and 2017, with subsequent appeals dismissed, while another attempt was dismissed by a planning inspector in 2018.

The battle continued when plans for three to seven homes were refused and an appeal dismissed in July 2025.

However, a reduced proposal for three to four homes eventually proved successful.

An appeal was launched after Cherwell District Council failed to determine the application in time, with a planning inspector granting permission in principle in January 2026.

The inspector said the homes could potentially be delivered by converting the pub and using development already approved at the site without requiring significant additional building.

The council had argued development could harm Burdrop's rural character and conservation area and urbanise the Sibford Gap.

However, the inspector found the scheme would not necessarily harm the area's rural character or nearby heritage assets.

The pub's viability has also been central to the dispute, with independent assessments concluding reopening it would no longer be financially viable.

One assessment estimated around £900,000 would be needed to purchase the property and create a physically viable pub.