£1.4m conversion to pub is turning back the clock (From Andover Advertiser)
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Wetherspoon's opens The Six Bells pub in Lymington
2:24pm Monday 18th February 2013 in Hampshire Business
By Chris Yandell, Chief Reporter, New Forest
OPENING: The Six Bells pub
IT sparked one of the biggest planning battles the upmarket Hampshire town had ever seen.
An application to open a Wetherspoon cut-price pub in the historic heart of Lymington caused a storm of protest – and an even bigger avalanche of support.
Permission for the controversial scheme was finally granted in 2011 – almost a year to the day after the first application was rejected.
Now the 47 staff are busy putting the final touches to the two-storey pub and restaurant, which opens at 8am tomorrow.
The Six Bells is named after a pub that used to stand next door and became known as the headquarters of the bell ringers from the neighbouring St Thomas’s Church.
For the past 173 years the building has housed the C Ford & Co shop – later Palfrey & Kemp.
The Wetherspoon chain has spent £1.4m on converting the former furnishings store into Lymington’s newest eatery. But the C Ford & Co sign is displayed above the tables and a glass cabinet contains some of the ledgers from the 1950s.
Many of the walls are adorned with old photographs of Lymington, including aerial shots of the river.
The seating area near the main entrance is dominated by a large painting of well-known Lymingtonians including Ben Ainslie, the most successful sailor in Olympic history.
Seven angled mirrors at the top of the stairs enable customers to view the neighbouring church, part of which dates from 1250.
The new watering hole will be open from 8am to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and 8am until midnight on Friday and Saturday, with food being served until 10pm each day.
Lymington was dubbed “the snootiest town in Britain” after the first application to open a Wetherspoon outlet was rejected by district councillors in 2010.
Members voted against the scheme after objectors claimed that rowdy customers would upset pensioners living in nearby Monmouth House and mourners attending funerals at the church.
But Wetherspoon hit back, saying the chain had won numerous awards for the way it ran its 760 pubs.
Wetherspoon’s second application sparked more than 970 letters of objection.
However, the district council also received a 1,000-name petition and 110 letters from people supporting the proposal.
Members went against the advice of planning officers and approved the revised scheme.
Comments(17)
elvisimo
says...
5:27pm Mon 18 Feb 13
My boy wrote:move?
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon. We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
tootle
says...
5:29pm Mon 18 Feb 13
Rhombus
says...
5:30pm Mon 18 Feb 13
My boy wrote:All I hear is "moan moan whinge whinge oh dear I have nothing better to do than cry about a pub on the echo site".
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon.
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
Get over it...it's built.
Pikey Pete
says...
6:10pm Mon 18 Feb 13
Too many people on here moaning all the timing.
Should be renamed "Daily Moan" Not Echo.
Biggest recession in history. A company provides some real jobs. Celebrate it.
skaman
says...
6:46pm Mon 18 Feb 13
skin2000
says...
6:46pm Mon 18 Feb 13
skin2000
says...
6:47pm Mon 18 Feb 13
My boy wrote:Your a bundle of fun mate, far better to have 47 employed people, than to have an empty shop.
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon.
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
peter.maidment
says...
6:47pm Mon 18 Feb 13
Wheeled1
says...
9:39pm Mon 18 Feb 13
kingnotail
says...
11:20pm Mon 18 Feb 13
My boy wrote:Most of the pubs in Southampton and the surrounding area are so crap they make Wetherspoons seem upmarket
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon.
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
skeptik
says...
8:19am Tue 19 Feb 13
Beer Monster
says...
10:50am Tue 19 Feb 13
tootle wrote:Agreed - best pub in Folkestone is the Wetherspoons IMO, they took a former church and converted it into a pub, retaining much of the original features. Superb building.
Some wetherspoons are better than others, some are in better locations than others. Quite a few are in interesting buildings and locations. Don't tar all of them with the same brush.
The Standing Order up here in Edinburgh is a much better reflection of the former bank in which it is housed than the shambles we have in the centre of Southampton. They've still got the vault, original ceiling and chandeliers.
Hope the Six Bells is a success, will try and frequent next time I'm down south.
adamello
says...
12:24pm Tue 19 Feb 13
Beer Monster wrote:Blimey, was going to let you know about this BM, but you are already here!
tootle wrote:Agreed - best pub in Folkestone is the Wetherspoons IMO, they took a former church and converted it into a pub, retaining much of the original features. Superb building.
Some wetherspoons are better than others, some are in better locations than others. Quite a few are in interesting buildings and locations. Don't tar all of them with the same brush.
The Standing Order up here in Edinburgh is a much better reflection of the former bank in which it is housed than the shambles we have in the centre of Southampton. They've still got the vault, original ceiling and chandeliers.
Hope the Six Bells is a success, will try and frequent next time I'm down south.
Sir Ad E Noid
says...
8:01pm Tue 19 Feb 13
My boy wrote:You live in Lymington? I knew it was bad there, but not that bad.
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon.
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
ryan_gazzan@hotmail.com
says...
12:14pm Wed 20 Feb 13
azcaz
says...
6:16pm Wed 20 Feb 13
My boy wrote:grow up
Who would ever want a Weatherspoons in their town? There are not enough unemployed people living in Lymington to fill it, so I guess they will go out of business pretty soon.
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.
My boy says...
5:15pm Mon 18 Feb 13
We have three weatherspoons in Southampton all filled with the usual rejects and unemployed, but that's just the norm for a grotty town like the one that l live in.