Pub immortalised by Evelyn Waugh in his masterpiece Decline and Fall will be turned into housing after locals lose High Court fight to save it

• Waugh taught at a prep school near the Fair View Inn in Llandulas, North Wales
• It became the model for ‘Mrs Roberts’ Pub’ in his much-loved 1928 comic novel
• Pub closed after hitting hard times and was bought by social housing provider in 
• High Court backs council granting site planning permission despite opposition

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A pub once frequented by novelist Evelyn Waugh which featured in his masterpiece ‘Decline and Fall’ will be developed for housing after a High Court ruling.

Waugh taught at a prep school near the Fair View Inn in Llandulas, North Wales, and it became the model for ‘Mrs Roberts’ Pub’ in his much-loved 1928 comic novel.

Paul Pennyfeather, who was famously ‘debagged’ by the Bollinger Club, drank there with fellow teachers when escaping from their duties at fictional school, Llanaba.

Evelyn Waugh taught at a prep school near the Fair View Inn in Llandulas, North Wales

The Fair View Inn, which opened in 1861, closed its doors recently after hitting hard times

But the Fair View Inn, which opened in 1861, closed its doors recently after hitting hard times and was bought by a social housing provider in 2017.

Cartefi Conwy Cyfynedig wants to turn the pub into a four-bedroom house and to build 24 one and two- bedroom flats in its grounds.

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Despite a storm of local opposition, Conwy County Borough Council granted planning permission for the development in March last year.

But campaigner Patricia Thompson, a member of the ‘Passionate about Llandulas’ pressure group, challenged the permission at the High Court.

Pointing out that the village would be left with just one pub, the Valentine, she claimed the council broke its own policy to protect community facilities.

Cartefi Conwy Cyfynedig wants to turn the pub into a four-bedroom house and to build 24 one and two-bedroom flats in its grounds. A concept drawing is pictured

Planning permission should not have been granted without a full assessment of whether it would be economically viable to re-open the Fair View Inn, she said.

Decline and Fall, a famous social satire

Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall was author Evelyn Waugh’s first published novel in 1928 and became a famous work of social satire.

The story he wrote aged 24 includes themes such as mankind’s wicked nature and the misery of youth.

Its tragic hero Paul Pennyfeather is an innocent man who is taken advantage of by those nastier and richer than him.

The tale features a portrayal of the champagne-fuelled bullying of the Bollinger Club, a fictional version of Oxford University’s Bullingdon Club.

Pennyfeather is stripped naked by the Bollinger boys before being spotted by dons and kicked out of the university – an act which begins his decline.

The story was adapted by Rev writer James Wood for a three-part BBC drama starring Jack Whitehall in 2017.

Ms Thompson also claimed the development would put pressure on class sizes at the village school, which is already heavily oversubscribed.

Dismissing her judicial review challenge, however, Mr Justice Dove rejected arguments that councillors had misinterpreted the planning policy.

He recognised the importance of community facilities in small settlements to meet the needs of locals without them having to travel further afield.

But council lawyers pointed out that the village still has one surviving pub and is also equipped with a community hall and a Royal British Legion Club.

The purpose of the policy was to guard against the village being left with no pub at all, he said. 

And councillors were not obliged to compare the facilities on offer at the Valentine against those lost when the Fair View Inn closed.

Turning to the education issue, the judge noted the developer would pay about £17,000 towards the construction of a new school within the next five years.

Councillors had not been misled about the purpose to which that money would be put, the judge concluded, upholding the planning permission.

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