Joy as protest stops Dudley pub becoming supermarket
Campaigners embraced and applause rippled around Dudley Council chamber as it sank in that the application to convert the Seven Stars in Sedgley had been defeated.
Residents in the area had made their feelings abundantly clear. More than 100 letters of objection had been submitted to the council while a petition set up by a campaign group gained 1,500 signatures.
Some 400 people also joined the Save the Seven Stars Facebook group.
The community was today in celebratory mood as residents toasted the decision of the council's planning committee to reject the proposal to turn the Gospel End Road pub into a supermarket.
Joyous residents were reluctant to get too excited however, admitting they fully expect the decision to be appealed.
But the mood has turned around completely from last week when many thought the battle was lost after the council's planning officers recommended the plan for approval. Experts had said the proposal to turn the building into a Morrisons was suitable, despite fears over traffic and the death of a much-loved pub. Representatives from Marston's also called on councillors to follow the recommendations.
But during the planning meeting, Councillor Dean Perks said he could not ignore the overwhelming opposition from people in Sedgley.
He said: "We are elected to stand for the electorate and it is clear the majority of people who live around this pub don't want it."
UKIP councillor Bill Etheridge, who was fiercely opposed to the plan since details first emerged, was elated with the decision.
He made an impassioned plea to the planning committee at the start of the meeting.
Councillor Etheridge said: "I am absolutely delighted with the decision, it is a win for the community over the corporate dollar. It will be a merry Christmas for people in Sedgley."
Asked about the possibility of an appeal, Councillor Etheridge remained defiant.
"We will win," he said. "People in Sedgley are united on this. We won't buckle to the corporate big bucks."
Campaigner Zoe Huddlestone, who lives nearby in South View Road, said: "It's fantastic. Halfway through, I wasn't sure what the outcome was going to be.
"I use the pub with my family and my partner has been going in there for 20 years. There are no other pubs like it in Sedgley.
"Obviously Morrisons are going to try and do what they can to get what they want but we as a community don't want it and will fight till the end."
