Businessman ordered to demolish Indian gastropub near Anne Hathaway’s Cottage

A Stratford-upon-Avon hotelier has been ordered to remove an Indian gastropub and accompanying outdoor decking that was built without planning permission close to Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, a 15th-century thatched property managed as a museum by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

Stratford District Council served an enforcement notice on Burnside Hotel director Rakesh Singh requiring the removal of the Cask N Tandoor building, a 114-square-metre wooden terrace, outdoor seating and a gabion wall. The notice, issued on Aug. 12, will take effect on Sept. 23 unless an appeal is lodged; the proprietor has been given six months to comply if the notice stands.

The council refused retrospective planning permission for the gastropub last month after concluding the brookside development failed to "enhance the character" of nearby historic buildings and the wider conservation area. The eatery sits about 188 metres from Anne Hathaway’s Cottage in the village of Shottery, which lies on the edge of Stratford and is subject to conservation-area protections and restrictive covenants.

In its enforcement notice the council said the unauthorised pub and seating area carry the potential to cause a detrimental impact on nearby residential amenity through noise and disturbance, and constitute an "overdevelopment of the site" that erodes an important open area contributing to Shottery's landscape and character. The notice also referenced the absence of planning conditions to control the use of the building and associated outdoor seating.

Singh, 57, who is listed as director of the 24-room, four-star Burnside Hotel, obtained earlier approval to replace a timber shed with two en-suite bedrooms and a plant room but subsequently enlarged the works and added the gastropub and large outdoor terrace, according to council records and local reporting. The Cask N Tandoor was constructed in March this year.

The Shakespeare Birthplace Trust objected to the retrospective application, saying the works overdeveloped the site in contravention of local planning policy and an existing restrictive covenant and did not respect the amenity of surrounding properties, including the cottage. Stansgate Planning, acting for Mr. Singh, said it was reviewing the reasons for refusal and consultation comments with a view to submitting another planning application or appealing the decision.

Locals and conservation advocates raised concerns during the dispute, telling council planners and local media that the development damaged wildlife in a nearby brook and created late-night noise and light disturbance. Some neighbours told reporters that the new venue had generated complaints about amplified sound and large gatherings.

Hotel manager Minty Manhas, speaking in interviews published earlier this year, said guests had requested additional dining facilities and described the controversy as proportionally inflated. She told the Daily Mail that Singh had no intention of taking the building down and called the project a response to demand from guests and some locals. Manhas also suggested the dispute had a social dimension, saying some resistance to the scheme related to the owner’s background; those comments were presented as her views.

The Cask N Tandoor’s website describes the venue as an "Indian Gastro Pub" overlooking woodland and a brook and advertises Indian dishes alongside traditional pub fare. The Burnside Hotel bills itself as a family-owned, four-star property with room rates advertised at about £265 a night and positions itself among the higher-tier independent hotels in the Stratford area. House prices in Shottery and surrounding areas are considered relatively high, with local averages reported at approximately £500,000.

The enforcement notice places a regulatory and financial obligation on the hotelier to remedy the breach or seek recourse through appeal. Planning experts say enforcement action can lead to demolition or reinstatement of land to its previous condition, carry financial penalties and complicate future applications for the same site.

The case highlights tensions that can arise when tourism-driven businesses seek to expand in conservation areas that include heritage assets. Anne Hathaway’s Cottage, the Childhood home of Shakespeare’s wife and a long-established visitor attraction, is operated by the trust as part of a portfolio of historic properties around Stratford-upon-Avon.

Burnside Hotel, the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust and Stratford District Council were contacted for comment. Stansgate Planning said it was reviewing options but had not yet lodged an appeal at the time of the council’s enforcement notice.