Sussex village pub faces closure and conversion into housing

Pub owner Nick Illes has lodged a planning application with Horsham District Council for the change of use of The Green Man in Jolesfield, Partridge Green.

Agents Mark Alford Design, in a statement to the council, say that the independent pub “can no longer operate as a viable business due to challenging market conditions.”

They add: “The owner has actively tried to seek new owners for the current business for many years and has also explored other types of commercial activities that could operate on the site, but has come to the conclusion that residential use is the only sensible and viable option for the site.”

The Green Man is a two storey, late 19th-century free house which has expanded a number of times on a spacious plot. Planning permission is now being sought to convert it into a one-bedroom dwelling and two two-bedroom units, each with parking spaces and separate gardens.

The agents say: "The business has been suffering a number of years and given the present-day climate for remote public houses, the owners have no other alternative but to cease trading and consider planning permission for an alternative use of the property.

“When looking at this particular property however, its location and the fact that a public house/restaurant has operated for a considerable amount of time, the

only other viable and sensible commercial alternative would be offices. But when looking at the viability and remote location of this site, it would be far more sensible and realistic to locate offices closer to the village of Partridge Green or into larger settlements such as Horsham, Southwater and Henfield.

“It can be evidenced that the recent trading activity of the business has been clearly compromised in recent years by numerous reasons some of which include stringent drink driving regulations, lack of affordable local taxi services, rising food and staff costs, and competition from food delivery services and supermarkets selling cheaper food and alcohol.

"Also, the recent closure of the local bus routes has made recruitment of staff much more difficult and less appealing for those looking for full and part time work.

"The centre of Partridge green has a number of retail outlets, in particular the Co-op that sells a broad range of food and alcohol which is a constant competitor to the Green Man.

"The loss therefore of the public house and restaurant would not undermine the facilities available within the Partridge Green area, or be a loss with regards local pubs, with other busy pubs in the area including The Partridge in the village, The Windmill in Littleworth, the Bull Inn at Henfield and the Fountain Inn at Ashurst.”

They say that the pub has been advertised as a ‘going concern’ for many years by specialist agent A W Gore. “The agent has advised that the pandemic has caused a vast slowdown in sales and activities for public houses, and the hopeful bounce back in sales has failed to materialise due to soaring energy and staffing costs, recent high inflation, and interest rates remaining higher than pre-pandemic levels.”

No decision on the planning application has yet been made.