Heritage pub closes because it is 'hard to find'

That’s according to Martin Thomas ex-licensee of the Five Mile House in Duntisbourne Abbots who said that although the pub is listed in the Campaign for Real Ale’s Britain’s Best Heritage Pubs, he has been unsuccessful in getting permission for a brown sign on a nearby busy road to direct people to the pub.

Thomas had been at the pub for nine months, during which he said he has spent £50,000 on refurbishing the site. Since taking on the private lease, Thomas said he has campaigned “tirelessly” to get a brown sign.

He said that the Highways Agency has said that the sign would be akin to an advert, however Thomas said that another pub in the area has been allowed a brown sign.

In the middle of nowhere​

“The pub is in the middle of nowhere, there is no traffic around so it is very difficult to find,” Thomas told the Publican’s Morning Advertiser. “We have been campaigning tirelessly for a brown sign on the A417/419.”

He added: “People book to come for dinner but they can’t find us.

“It’s a scandal. I’m very angry. I’ve got to the point where I can’t trade anymore. I’m not willing to pump any more money in if the local authority is not going to help.

“This is a special pub and it will be missed but I can’t keep putting in £3,000 to £5,000 of my own money because it could just be a bottomless pit.”

Clear guidelines​

A spokesman from the Highways Agency said: “There are very clear guidelines as to where we would and would not put brown tourist signs."

He said that the attraction needs to have a between 40,000 to 250,000 visitors per year to be considered for a brown tourist sign.

A spokeswoman for Gloucestershire County Council did not comment because she said the road is owned by the Highways Agency.