Change of use application could help pub sale

A pub in Oxford has been on the market for 12 months with no successful sale in sight, prompting its owners to make a change of use application to Oxford City Council.

The owners of the former Osney Arms pub want to convert the pub into guest rooms because, as planning agent Linda Wright noted, the pub is unviable in its current state.

She told the Oxford Times: "The pub has been on the market for 12 months and there have been significant attempts to sell it as a going concern.

"Council policy states that where a pub is found to be unviable, the council should approve a change of use."

The agent added that there is a difference between changing the property to a residential property and to the guest house being proposed. By maintaining the property as a business this is less likely to happen.

Tony Goulding, of the Oxford branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, said that the guesthouse would be "the next best thing" to bringing the pub back to life.

Other buyers looking at a struggling pub might also want to consider making a change of use application to find a more successful business approach for their acquisition.