PLANS for a hoped-for new pub in Whyteleafe have bitten the dust.
The proposed "micropub", on the site of a former cafe in Godstone Road, has been scrapped at the eleventh hour.
Bucking the trend of pub closures locally, the scheme had won both planning permission and an 11pm seven-days-a-week licence from Tandridge District Council.
But a snag over terms of the lease has scuppered the project.
It was the brainchild of bus driver Vincent Glen, of Waddington Avenue, Old Coulsdon.
His idea was for a small pub serving mainly real ales – with no lager, television or music – for a 30 years-plus clientele.
However Mr Glen told the Mirror: "The five-year lease said I would be responsible for any repairs and alterations to the building, and I just could not commit to that. It's a shame because I'm back to square one.
"I have been looking for the right premises for a year now."
Mr Glen said he had previously missed out on two alternative vacant sites in Whyteleafe.
And a possible suitable location in Westway, Caterham, had not been offered to him because the letting company was concerned about how a micropub would affect the 80-year-old tenant living above the premises.
Backing the micropub plan, Roy Golding, of the East and Mid-Surrey branch of CAMRA (Campaign for Real Ale), had said: "Within just a few miles we have seen the closure of the Good Companions and the Hare and Hounds in Warlingham, as well as The Valley and the Clifton Arms in Caterham closing down.
"It would be wonderful to see support for a nice pub in an under-pubbed area."
And Tandridge District Council even received a letter of support from a Hertfordshire-based real ale fan who said: "Every single micropub has a very friendly and welcoming ambience which encourages the sadly diminishing art of conversation."
The former cafe has lain vacant for more than four years.
Peter Gildersleve, the Oxted-based property agent behind the scheme, said the site had been marketed extensively since 2010.
