Community bid to buy Muchos Nachos is rejected

Campaigners have said they will continue to fight to save a pub after the owner rejected their bid to buy the premises.
DM1831940a.jpg. Fund raising efforts to purchase community pub Muchos Nachos, Chichester. L to R Sarah Sharp, Chris Boxall and David Stevens and Robin Hurren. Photo by Derek Martin Photography. SUS-180313-175302008DM1831940a.jpg. Fund raising efforts to purchase community pub Muchos Nachos, Chichester. L to R Sarah Sharp, Chris Boxall and David Stevens and Robin Hurren. Photo by Derek Martin Photography. SUS-180313-175302008
DM1831940a.jpg. Fund raising efforts to purchase community pub Muchos Nachos, Chichester. L to R Sarah Sharp, Chris Boxall and David Stevens and Robin Hurren. Photo by Derek Martin Photography. SUS-180313-175302008

Muchos Nachos restaurant, formerly known as the Crown Inn, in Whyke Road was the subject of a planning application to turn the historic pub into housing.

The plans were refused last summer and supporters began working on efforts to purchase the building as a community asset to be used for social events and communal activities.

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But when the pressure group lodged a bid to buy the pub, it learned the offer had been declined within days.

Sarah Sharp, who is leading the campaign, said the group was ‘disappointed’ to receive such a swift negative response to the offer.

She said: “We expect that following the initial refusal to grant planning permission the owner will apply again.

“We will now focus on fighting a second planning application as and when it is presented to the district council.

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“We are grateful to the many people that offered pledges of financial support in order to buy the pub.

“While we will keep details of those pledges on file, we do appreciate people’s circumstances change.

“We will ask people to reaffirm their pledge should the need arise to raise funds to buy the pub at some future point.

“Nevertheless, we do need to build up a fighting fund to help oppose any new planning application and to do the groundwork to allow us to react quickly if another opportunity to buy is presented in future.

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“We are exploring how best to build this fund and will circulate our ideas shortly.

“While it is discouraging to have had a reasonable offer rejected, we believe with local support it will ultimately be possible to preserve the Crown as a community hub for the benefit of the people of Whyke for years to come.”