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A CGI image of the proposed McDonald's
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McDonald's bid for Tumbledown is imminent

By Tim Harris
February 19, 2013

A CONTROVERSIAL application to turn an historic Farnborough pub into a McDonald’s restaurant is expected within two months.

It emerged late last year the Tumbledown Dick, in Farnborough Road, was linked with a sale to the international fast food chain.

McDonald’s has revealed a planning application for the outlet at the Tumbledown site will be submitted in April.

A campaign has been running since October to save the pub, affectionately known as the ‘Tumbly’, and group the Friends of the Tumbledown Dick was formed.

The group branded the McDonald’s plan ‘completely unacceptable’. The Friends found discussions to turn the pub into a McDonald’s had been in motion for months, after a Freedom of Information request to Rushmoor Borough Council uncovered plans for the restaurant, dating back to April.

The council described the documents as ‘pre-application discussions’. McDonald’s, which had admitted an interest in the Tumbledown site, has now confirmed the date a formal approach will be made. A spokesman for McDonald’s explained plans will include keeping the front of the Tumbledown, after discussions with Farnborough residents, councillors and town MP Sir Gerald Howarth. The spokesman said: “Over four months we have consulted with people in Farnborough on our proposals. Following this, we are pleased to announce our application for a new restaurant will retain the frontage of the Tumbledown Dick pub.”

A CGI image of what the restaurant could look like has been released, and the spokesman added the food chain would bring more than 65 new jobs to the area.

Fran Beauchamp, of the Friends of the Tumbledown Dick, said retaining the front of the building was not enough.

“The Friends of the Tumbledown Dick still find this completely unacceptable,” she said. “We want to save the building in its entirety. We do not just want to save the front and sell burgers out the back.”

The group has had an application for the Tumbledown to become a listed building turned down by English Heritage. Ms Beauchamp confirmed an appeal against the decision has been lodged. She added a series of public demonstrations are being planned, to follow several protests outside the pub last year.

The McDonald’s announcement came days after the council permitted the Tumbledown building to become an ‘asset of community value’ (ACV) under the Localism Act 2011 – the first building in Rushmoor to receive the status.

This means the Friends of the Tumbledown Dick will have the chance to bid for the building during a six-month period in which it cannot be sold or demolished.

However, Andrew Lloyd, chief executive of the council said the six-month window will only take place if there was a breakdown in the deal between McDonald’s and Bride Hall Investments, the current land owners of the pub.

Ms Beauchamp said it was a “great decision” to allow the ACV but “it doesn’t automatically change things”.

The Tumbledown Dick is believed to have existed since the 1600s, and has hosted bands such as Reuben, Hundred Reasons and The Jam.

The venue has been empty since 2008 after it failed a health inspection.

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As Molo Ko says, it all boils down to money, I have asked the same question other articles in the past, yes we would love it to all work out but were the money will come from hasn't been answered.

Something is better than it staying derelict.

Where were all these supporters when it closed down? if it was busy enough then the effort would have been made to clear the closure notice, it was clearly not viable.

Pigfarmer, Farnborough
09/03/2013 at 14:20

tinks, it didn't close because nobody was using it. It closed because of a health inspection and remained closed because the owner didn't want to spend on the required upgrade.

SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough
25/02/2013 at 12:14

if everyone who is on the save the tdd committee had used the pub when it was open it may not have closed

tinks 41
25/02/2013 at 11:52

CarlosFundango - couldn't agree more but since when did big business care about benefitting the community when there's money to be made. It These days corporate social responsibility means throwing a few crumbs from the table to keep the peasants quiet.

pjt
24/02/2013 at 18:22

Whatever faith I had that RBC may listen to their community on this matter is now gone. So many councils in this country have listened to their people and stopped big business from destroying their towns and turning them into soulless slabs of concrete but not ours. How many more times are RBC just going to do things against the wishes of the people who voted them there? Or is it just a case of RBC wanting our money not our loyalty or opinions?

Claire Marshall
24/02/2013 at 11:58

Whatever anyone thinks of the Tumbledown, how on earth can a two storey junk food mecca be an asset to town which already has above the national levels of obesity. People should ask one simple question - what will be of the benefit to the people of Farnborough of having a supersized McDonalds when we already have one ? The answer is none.

CarlosFundango, Farnborough
23/02/2013 at 21:53

Thanks for recognising that Molo, I actually do !

SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough
21/02/2013 at 10:17

Molo Ko

Can I first say thankyou for trying to make something of the Tumbledown, even if it wasnt actually about saving the structure (or was it?)

It is also useful to have a first hand account of what the paper trail already suggested - that the leaseholders and the landowners actively avoided any remedy to the situation when they could have bowed out.

This can only strengthen the nagging feeling that deliberate dereliction was the aim all along, probably to boost the potential sale value of the land through making complete redevelopment easier to argue for.

In a way you cant blame developers for being greedy like that. What is unforgivable is the fact that the local authority, the only party involved that had the power to act against profiteering at the expense of historical buildings....made no serious attempt to do that.

Which can only prompt further questions.

Rob S
20/02/2013 at 22:11

SpongeBob - Please read my comments properly - I said it wasn't viable at the time of closure - being just after the recession started. Why are so many pubs closing every week around the country? Or is that 'Massive Tosh' too? I Own three Restaurants and Bars so I might have a little knowledge on the subject. Most of my family own Restaurants/Pubs/Bars. I used to go to the Tumbly myself.

I have personally been involved in Project Managing the renovation of Restaurants to meet current regulations and it's not necessarily a massive cost especially for an already operating Kitchen/restaurant. The Tumbledown Pub was shut voluntarily.

I'm trying to voice my opinion in a fair way whilst remaining polite and I have said already I agree with your idea you're trying to achieve but I'm trying to point out Legally and Financially there's not too much anyone can really do about it.

Anyway - You know more about everything more than anyone else so I'll let you be SpongeBob.

Take care and good luck.

Molo Ko
20/02/2013 at 17:08

You still miss the point, Molo Kolo. Although we have the short stack here, that is not a reason to give up. From what you say, you believe that there is no chance of winning, so why bother..... I say once it gone, its GONE FOREVER, so let's make ourselves heard as a community, and your comment on not being viable as a pub is massive tosh, the owners just didn't want to spend loads making it H&S compliant, it didn't close because nobody was using it, did it.

SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough
20/02/2013 at 16:16

I do agree SpongeBob and with the principles of http://friendsofthetumbledowndick.org.uk. But as the Building is owned privately there is not too much that can be done about it - FACT. Any planning permissions will only be refused if there is some Major Issue with it - at the moment it's just a Restaurant trying to Open up in a dissused building that already had permission to serve food.

I agree with the community initiative but it's a privately owned Business/Building and we don't have any say legally. Even with the Pyestock development there was a lot more significant reasons not to grant Permission but it got ignored anyway.

For a community initiative it would be far easier to do something with the old Pizza Hut building for example as the Council already own it. Yes it is a big shame that a lovely old pub is being converted into something that wasn't it's original purpose but the people who know how to run pubs know that it wasn't viable to continue as a Pub and other Pub operators know this too. Otherwise it would have changed hands to another pub operator years ago or been refurbished. The previous operator was waiting to see if the economy improves first - we still have a long way to go.

Molo Ko
20/02/2013 at 15:35

Molo Kolo, whatever has gone before, there is now a major community initiative pursuing it, the whole community should get behind it rather than dismissing it because of the failures of the past. Once this is gone , it is gone forever.

SpongeBob NoPants, Farnborough
20/02/2013 at 15:01

I did look at the FAQs Rob S - As I stated Nothing SIGNIFICANT was done. It's a privately owned building. Only way to do something properly is to buy it off the current owners and then do something with it. Macdonalds have managed to acquire it and everyone else including me failed to do so.

I expressed interest in buying it some years ago but the owners at the time made it diffcult and weren't interested in selling it.

Molo Ko
20/02/2013 at 14:22

Molo Ko

You are incorrect to say nobody tried to do anything before now. I suggest you have a look through the FAQ at:

http://friendsofthetumbledowndick.org.uk/faqs/

The responsibility for the state of the building lies squarely with the landowner/leaseholder holding onto the building with no intention of improvement or discussing a sale - and with the local authority who failed to prevent the deliberate dereliction of a local landmark when they had the power to do so..

Rob S
20/02/2013 at 13:33

Sorry I should have added that I too would like to see it as a public house, a music & arts venue and additionally as a community hub as stated by friendsofthetumbledowndick.org.uk but no one is going to pay for it or take it over from a financial point of view