The Crown and Thistle has closed for refurbishment work to commence, and work should have started by now.

But instead of that, the scaffolding has been taken down again because of a dispute.

The Crown and Thistle has a front entrance onto Bridge Street that is used by pedestrians. It would be dangerous, and cause congestion, receiving deliveries and letting customers’ vehicles in that way. And so the pub is dependent on the back entrance which uses a council owned, council maintained, road. It is rumored that the council (not sure whether that is County, District or Town) has decided to bump up the charge that the Crown and Thistle pay for use of that road from 3 to 10 breadsticks a year.

Negotiations are carrying on between the parties. The 10K may have been in the council’s money saving plan, but it was not in the pub’s redevelopment plan.

There are notices in the windows of the Broad Face to say that it will be opening tomorrow, 25th June 2013 – before a lot of people realised it had closed. The gastro pub has now had four Landlords in a year, but the new management, this time round, may not be entirely new- if rumour is to believed. They were the chefs working with Mr R while he was in charge, and now he has gone to pastures new, they have taken over the Broad Face.

People raved about the food when Mr R was in charge. A lot of that must also have been down to the new men in charge.