Boaters don't want wine bar

THE plans to turn the Barge Inn at Honeystreet on the Kennet & Avon Canal into a wine bar has met with great opposition.

Boaters and residents have joined in opposition to the plans by Italian owner Pietro Cuomo who has submitted them to Wiltshire Council but also plans to convert the adjacent warehouse into living accommodation, Alan Tilbury reveals.

Italian themed

He wants to turn the traditional canalside pub into into an Italian themed wine bar and convert the warehouse into a home for himself and family.

In the application Pietro Cuomo stated the pub was no longer viable, but those in opposition to the change believe this is because he closed the adjoining camp-site that provided a great deal of custom.

Restaurant

The application also states that the wine bar would include a restaurant, in keeping with the current trend 'to mirror the shifting emphasis in successful hostelries'.

A petition earlier this year against the transformation of the pub into a wine bar and restaurant was signed by nearly 500 people.