The Plough Inn, Thatcham could become housing under new proposal

A Grade-II listed pub in Thatcham could be turned into housing.

Sandstone Estates Ltd has applied for permission to convert The Plough Inn into five houses, with associated parking, cycle parking, waste storage and other ancillary works.

The Plough, located on the corner of Chapel Street and Stoney Lane, closed in 2017.

And after two attempts to sell and the discovery of two cannabis factories inside, the applicant has put forward the current plan to West Berkshire Council.

The applicant’s Heritage Statement read: “The proposed works will allow the future sustainable use of the listed building, caring for it and securing the safe use and maintenance of the building for the foreseeable future, whilst retaining its heritage value and architectural interest.”

Its Planning and Design and Access Statement said the development will contribute to West Berkshire’s housing targets and have no detrimental impact on surrounding heritage assets, residential amenity, environmental quality or highways network.

The council is expected to decide on the proposal by Friday, November 22.

The inn is understood to date back to the 17th century.

Thatcham historian Nick Young placed the earliest confirmed record of the building as an inn to 1795, under Edward Farrow.

It stayed with the Farrow family until 1860.

In November 1888, the body of an infant was discovered in the roof.

And in 1894, Thatcham Football Club played their first recorded match, using The Plough as their base.