IT could be an expensive round for Teignbridge Council if it slaps a compulsory purchase order on Bickington's Toby Jug Inn. If owner's, the Heavitree Brewery, appealed and won, it could cost the council an estimated £23,400. The public inquiry costs would be £8,000, Heavitree's legal and professional costs could be £15,000 and publicising the order would be around £400. Even if it was successful, the district authority would still face some £15,000 costs. After a long-running saga since time was called at the Toby Jug, following which villagers formed their own Save the Toby Jug Action Group (Stag), a final decision could be made on Monday. That is when Teignbridge Council Executive is being recommended that it enters into an agreement with the Wykeham Group Ltd in which it agrees to purchase the Toby Jug compulsorily. Wykeham has successfully redeveloped other pubs after close community consultation, and will have to guarantee to underwrite the purchase price, up to that determined by the district valuer. It has also offered to enter into an agreement incorporating seven provisions which could be of benefit to the community. They include: l an obligation to provide catering services to the church hall/village hall for community events; l use of the pub's current, and possibly, future meeting room for community associations and community charitable endeavours on a without charge basis; l to allow the car park and gardens to be used for any community gatherings provided that they do not interfere with the operation of the business. This might be used for rallies, hunts, charitable events, etc; l the provision of a community internet access point available during opening hours for the community, and l all the charitable endeavours undertaken by the pub to be allocated to a community charity. The executive is also being recommended that the council exercises its powers under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to acquire the land compulsorily. Last month solicitors for the Heavitree Brewery maintained the council was putting the cart before the horse in its proposals for a CPO because it was being recommended to go ahead in the absence of any firm proposals from the brewery to re-open the pub. The solicitors made it clear that they were firmly instructed that their client intended to object to any CPO, should the council confirm that one was to be made. They warned the brewery would seek to recover its costs from the council should its objection succeed and the CPO be not confirmed. In the past, Heavitree Brewery's proposals for incorporating the site in a housing redevelopment were dismissed on appeal. The Devon-based Wykeham Group has approached the Heavitree Brewery on two occasions, but the company was not interested in selling the Toby Jug Inn to them.
