Meavy Royal Oak tenants to leave pub after council opening-hours dispute

The tenants of the Royal Oak Inn in Meavy are to leave the pub after saying they could no longer make the business financially viable under the current opening-hour arrangements.

Jo and Lee Rowe, who have run the pub for the past three years, announced they would be leaving in a statement on Facebook.

They said ongoing challenges with Burrator Parish Council over the pub's opening hours had reached a point where continuing to run the business was no longer financially viable for them.

Their kitchen is due to open for the final time on November 29, with existing gift vouchers valid until then.

Mrs Rowe told The Moorlander that the couple had previously been allowed to close on Mondays and Tuesdays during the winter months, but they wanted greater flexibility to close on those days when trading was not viable.

She said the couple had sought an arrangement allowing them to decide when to close on Mondays and Tuesdays rather than being limited to set winter months.

Mrs Rowe added that the couple had taken advice from their solicitor and accountant and had told the council they would leave at the lease break if an agreement on the two-day closures could not be reached.

Burrator Parish Council owns the Royal Oak and has previously said it wants to support the tenant and keep discussions open.

Draft minutes from a meeting of the council's Royal Oak Inn Committee on September 10 record discussions about a letter from the tenant's solicitor concerning changes to the lease and a rent review.

The minutes say the committee agreed to keep the rent at its current level, as requested by the tenant.

On trading hours, the committee proposed that the inn could close on Mondays and Tuesdays from October 1 to March 31, with the remaining six months described as “negotiable”.

The minutes also state that the committee was “open to discussing this matter further with the tenant”.

The committee proposed that the inn could also close for a two-week period during the year with prior notification to the committee.

Before the meeting, members of the public had asked questions about the rent review process and supported the tenant, according to the draft minutes.

The minutes record that the committee said previous amendments had been agreed, “reasonable requests would not be refused” and that it wished to support the tenant and welcomed honest discussions.

The dispute echoes a disagreement over opening hours involving the pub's previous tenant.

Stephen Earp left the Royal Oak in 2023 after 17 years. He said at the time that the pub was not financially viable under the opening-hours arrangements.

In their Facebook statement, Jo and Lee said: “We have poured our heart, soul and endless hours into The Royal Oak Inn, working hard to make it our own and create a place we could be proud of.”

They added: “We are truly heartbroken that this chapter is coming to an end.”

The Royal Oak is not necessarily closing permanently. Its future will depend on whether a new operator is found and what arrangements are agreed for running the business.

The parish council's September 10 draft minutes indicate that discussions about the pub's trading arrangements were continuing at that point.