Villager’s anger over pub plans

MUCH to the dismay of villagers,  ‘ The Colliers Arms ‘ in Saron closed  its doors back in March. Their anger  has intensified since the submission  of a planning application to convert  the village’s only pub into residential  accommodation.  Rather than stand by and lose their  pub, however, angry local residents  have been actively petitioning against  its closure.

The villagers’ petition has  gathered 274 signatures and 26 letters  of objection. Among the objections, the  employment opportunity presented by  the business and the relationship between  the villagers and the pub throughout  generations feature significantly.  Villager Kevin Isaac told the Herald  that the closure of the Colliers has had  a negative impact on village life: “Its  closure has been devastating for the local  community. As it’s the only public house  in Saron , the closure has had a very  negative effect – there’s nowhere now  that people can meet locally for a drink  and socialise.”

Within the pub, there were darts and  pool teams who would meet in the pub  on a weekly basis and hold tournaments.  Reflecting on the petition’s success  and the Facebook campaign to save the  pub for the village, Mr Isaac explained:  “We have had a lot of messages of  support from all over – we’ve even got  people who have lived in Saron and are  familiar with the public house.

“The pub was the heart of the  community of Saron and , now that’s  been taken away from us, it has left a  huge gap in village life and society,” Mr  Isaac continued.  “We are just trying to look after the  community and try ing to protect what  we had in Saron , which was a public  house and a meeting place .”  On Friday, June 3 , villagers took  their protest to outside the pub and a  statement was read: “We are here today  in an act of unity to demonstrate the  level of feeling and deep concern there is  within the community of Saron.

“Concern over an application made  to Carmarthenshire County Council  by the owner of the Colliers Arms, Mr  Richard Wigley, to finally close the doors  of this long established public house in  an attempt to convert the property into  residential accommodation.  “This property was purchased by Mr  Wigley as a public house, from having  been a public house for well over 100  years. It has a rich heritage and even up  to its closure a few months ago, was a  well-supported and financially viable  business.  “It employed local people and was  the heart of the Saron community.

It  hosted a number of successful darts and  pool teams and supported the community  hall in its functions.  “Since its closure , the community  has suffered with no alternative option  available in the village. It played an  integral role, allowing locals to meet up  and participate in normal village life.  It also attracted visitors from the wider  community.  “We urge Carmarthenshire County  Council to reject the proposed planning  application, as to allow the building  to remain a public house. We strongly  oppose the application as we believe  it should remain a business unit, in the  event that one day it may be reopened  to allow the hardworking and decent  community of Saron to once again  benefit from this cherished community  facility.

“Thank you all for coming here this  evening and demonstrating your support  to this objection. Diolch.”  Richard Wigley, the owner of the  Colliers Arms, already has pre-existing  planning permission for two dwellings  on land adjacent to the closed pub. That  planning permission was granted under  delegated powers, that is it was not  scrutinised by the Council’s Planning  Committee members, in July last year.  In May, Llandybie Community  Council urged that the application  should be refused, as the closure of  the The Colliers Arms, ‘would have  a detrimental effect on the amenities  enjoyed at present by the inhabitants  of the area especially the residents of  Saron’.  Efforts to obtain a comment from the  property’s owners were unsuccessful.